Module 4 Dealing with violations

23

Exploring Humanitarian LawEDUCATION MODULES FOR YOUNG PEOPLEEHL

4Module 4Dealing with violations

Why is dealing with violations important?In what ways can violations be addressed?

International Committee of the Red Cross19, avenue de la Paix1202 Geneva, SwitzerlandT +41 22 734 60 01 F +41 22 733 20 57E-mail: [email protected] www.ehl.icrc.org© ICRC, January 2009

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.ehl.icrc.org

3EHL

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Exploring Humanitarian LawMODULE 4: DEALING wITh vIOLATIONS

EXPLORATIONS (7 sessions)

4A Rationales and options for dealing with IHL violations (two sessions) 4

4B Judicial options (three sessions) 19

4C Non-judicial options (two sessions) 42

CONCEPTSImplementation

Enforcement

Civilian/ combatant distinction

Social pressure

War crime

In all modules:Human dignity

Obstacles to humanitarian behaviour

Consequences

Multiple perspectives

Dilemmas

SKILLS PRACTISEDPerspective taking

Identifying consequences

Legal reasoning

4Module 4Dealing with violations

If you have limited time and are unable to work through all the explorations, we recommend that you follow at least the short pathway of explorations marked with this icon.

Exploring Humanitarian LawExPLORATION 4A: RATIONALES AND OPTIONS FOR DEALING wITh IhL vIOLATIONSEHL 4

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Exploration 4A: Rationales and options for dealing with IHL violations

Module 3 took up the subject of violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), and students discovered why such violations occur. They learned about the dilemmas that may arise in applying the law and the difficulties related to responsibilities, using a case study.

Module 4 is designed to broaden students’ understanding of the ways in which IHL is implemented. It presents a number of ways of dealing with IHL violations, such as bringing perpetrators to trial, uncovering the truth, reconciliation and forms of reparation.

Exploration 4A first asks students to consider some reasons for dealing with violations of IHL. It then invites them to explore ways of doing this and touches upon the responsibilities of the different actors involved.

OBJECTIVES• tounderstandhowdealing–ornotdealing–withIHLviolationscanaffectthewell-beingofasocietyafterarmedconflict

• torecognizethatthereareanumberofwaysofdealingwithIHLviolations

STUDENT4A RESOURCES

4A.1 Graphs:Opinionsonwhattodowithpeoplebreakingtherulesofwar4A.2 Toforgetornottoforget?ViewsondealingwithviolationsofIHL4A.3 Whatisawarcrime?4A.4 Worksheet:ResponsibilitiesforimplementingIHL4A.5 Alookatsocietalsilenceafterviolations4A.6 Isittoolate?

PREPARATION

Choose the question you will use for the writing assignment in step 1.

In the Methodology Guide, review teaching methods 1 (Discussion), 7 (Writing and reflecting), 9 (Small groups) and 10 (Gathering stories and news). If possible, view the relevant chapter of the training film for teachers (Module 4).

TIME

Two 45-minute sessions

4A

5Exploring Humanitarian LawExPLORATION 4A: RATIONALES AND OPTIONS FOR DEALING wITh IhL vIOLATIONSEHL

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s1. WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WHEN THE LAW HAS BEEN BROKEN? (25 minutes)Begin a class discussion based on situations familiar to students. [For example: breaking ‘house rules’ or ‘rules of friendship’; flouting certain generally accepted moral principles]

Possible questions:

> If you break a rule or misbehave, what should you do? Why? > What should happen to you? Why?

Continue the discussion with examples of breaking the law.

Possible question:

> What happens to people accused of committing a crime, such as stealing or murder?

Use recent examples from local news. For every example, ask students to offer possible reasons for it.

Expand the discussion to situations of armed conflict.

Possible questions:

> What happens to people accused of violating IHL?> What are the similarities and differences between everyday crimes and breaking

the rules of war?

Select one of the two questions in the table below. Ask students to recall serious violations of IHL that they know of before choosing one of the answers listed. Tell them to write down the reasons for their choice.

Question 1:Should people who break the rules of war be punished?

Question 2:When the war is over, should people who have broken the rules of war:

• yes• no• don’tknow

• beputontrial?• beexposedtothepublicbutnot

put on trial?• beforgiven?• begrantedamnesty?• beforgottenaboutbecausethewar

is over?

NOTE

‘Amnesty’ is a governmental decision barring the prosecution of a particular group of persons for certain actions.

Discuss the question and the views expressed by students. Have them compare their thoughts with the views expressed in the graph “Opinions on what to do with people breaking the rules of war.”

STUDENT4A.1 RESOURCES

Possible question:

> How might someone’s response be affected by the experience of living through armed conflict?

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The exploration4A

2. CONSEQUENCES OF FORGETTING OR ADDRESSING VIOLATIONS OF IHL (20 minutes)

Present “To forget or not to forget? Views on dealing with violations of IHL,” and assign one of the four sets of quotations to pairs of students or to small groups.


Reconvene the class, and have students identify the reasons given in their set of quotations for action and for inaction.

Discuss these reasons.

Possible questions:

> What are some of the consequences of either choice for: • thevictims? • theperpetrators? • thesocietyasawholeintheaftermathofarmedconflict?> How do you react when you feel that somebody has harmed you?

Through class discussion, have students contribute ideas to record in the following table.

After violations of IHL, what are the effects:

on the victims? on the perpetrators? on the society?

of taking action

of doing nothing

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage, need not be lived again. – Maya Angelou, American poet

3. TRYING AND PUNISHING WAR CRIMES (25 minutes)Discuss the following IHL rule:

All States must establish laws to try and to punish those who commit grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions. – Paraphrased from Article 49/50/128/146 common to the four Geneva Conventions

Possible question:

> What would you consider to be a grave breach of IHL?

Ask students to give examples from history and current events.


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Then use “What is a war crime?” to give them a sense of the kinds of violations that constitute war crimes.


Possible question:

> Why do you think grave breaches of IHL qualify as war crimes?

List students’ responses to this second question where all can see.

Using the worksheet “Responsibilities for implementing IHL,” have students write down their ideas about what action can be taken after an armed conflict by:

• commandersofarmedforcesorgroups;• thegovernment;• thecourts.


Then discuss their ideas.

Stress the importance of the responsibility of each of the above parties in bringing alleged perpetrators to court.

• Commanders of armed forces or groups are responsible for monitoring the applicationofIHLandmuststopviolations;theymustreportallviolationsofthelaw and take disciplinary measures. They are also responsible for bringing to court martial persons under their authority who commit grave breaches.

• Thegovernment is responsible for enacting national laws prohibiting and punishing grave breaches. It is ultimately responsible for searching for and prosecuting persons accused of committing grave breaches. It must also ensure that its military commanders take action against those under their authority who commit grave breaches.

• Thecourts are responsible for trying and punishing persons who have committed grave breaches.

NOTE

In the EHL programme the term ‘war crimes’ covers ‘grave breaches’ and any other serious violations of IHL.

4. WHAT ELSE CAN BE DONE? (15 minutes)Point out that bringing people to trial is not the only way to deal with IHL violations.

Use the following statement to inspire students to generate ideas about what else could be done after the end of a period of violence to try to bring closure for the victims and to facilitate the society’s return to peace.

In the six years prior to 1982 nearly 30,000 people ‘disappeared’ in what is often referred to as Argentina’s ‘Dirty War.’ On orders from their superiors, naval officers dumped ‘the disappeared’ – still alive after being tortured – from airplanes into the South Atlantic.

Make a list of their suggestions.[For example: attempts to bring about a reconciliation between the perpetrators and victims’ relatives, efforts to find the remains of the’ disappeared’ and to return them to their families, public apologies, financial compensation to relatives for their loss, establishing memorials]

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4AReview and discuss their suggestions.

Possible questions:

> Who do you think could initiate these efforts? [For example: the international community, the government, non-governmental

organizations, relatives of the victims, concerned citizens]> Who do you think could carry them out? [For example: the international community, the government, the navy, the perpetrators,

those who gave the orders]> What is the aim of these measures if not to punish the perpetrators? [For example: to bring relief to the relatives of the victims, to reconcile people, to heal

wounds, to contribute to social reconstruction, to prevent future abuses, to move from violence to peace]

5. CLOSE (5 minutes)Discuss the following question:

> After an armed conflict, what could ordinary citizens do to help bring justice and heal the wounds of war?

! KEY IDEAS

• PeoplewhocommitgravebreachesofIHLmustbetriedandpunished.• TheresponsibilityforenforcingIHLliesprimarilywithgovernments,butothers

can play a significant role as well.• BringingperpetratorstotrialisnottheonlywaytodealwithviolationsofIHL.

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Extension activities

ECHOS OF SILENCE

Read “A look at societal silence after violations,” and then find an example of a country that has chosen to forget past abuses.


Write an essay in response to these words of the human rights activist Aryeh Neier:

Peaceful coexistence seems much less likely if those who were victimized see no one called to account for their suffering.

Does the experience of the country that you chose support or refute Neier’s statement?

HISTORYWho, in your country’s history, has been accused of inhumane behaviour in armed conflict? What was done about it? What was the outcome?

IS IT TOO LATE?

Using the section titled “A public debate in France” in “Is it too late?”, prepare a short essay in response to these questions:

> After so much time has elapsed, what can be done about the violations in this situation? What would the purpose be?

Then, from the “Voices” section of “Is it too late?” choose the quotation that best reflects your views on the subject.


Present your essay, and explain how your proposals would help prevent future violations, promote the healing process for the victims and benefit both France and Algeria.

Compare your ideas with those of others.

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WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?Consider the following statements:

Once a civil war is over, one must forgive and forget.– Paul Thibaud, essayist

Too much forgiving and forgetting stops the wound from healing. – Louis Joinet, magistrate and UN Special Rapporteur on impunity

Choose the point of view you wish to advocate, and prepare arguments in favour of it. Include your thoughts on the following questions in your presentation.

> What does forgetting mean? > If not forgetting involves taking some action, what might such action entail?> What does forgiving mean? > What are the possible consequences of forgiving? Of not forgiving?> What does each man recommend? > How would their words apply to an example you have studied or know of?

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STUDENTRESOURCE4A.2

S.4aC

AM

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Voic

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as 3

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the

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and

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polit

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houl

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ompt

the

com

mun

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whi

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itted

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and

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appe

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RA

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prob

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ount

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nest

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ld I d

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my

tort

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goi

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lose

th

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ands

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who

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bot

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as p

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t fo

r cov

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scap

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man

of p

rinci

ple

and

I bel

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that

cr

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shou

ld b

e pu

nish

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ut w

ho’s

goin

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judg

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hom

? No

one

is re

ally

in

cont

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e go

vern

men

t wer

e to

sa

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goi

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put

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wou

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art fi

ghtin

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ain.

– a

past

or

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RA

LEO

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o fo

reig

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of v

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amne

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st re

-sta

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cle

of im

puni

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...) T

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e si

mpl

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xpec

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last

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a re

sear

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an

Righ

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atch

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tally

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ccep

tabl

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di

sgus

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I see

the

kids

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feed

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look

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peop

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STUDENTRESOURCE4A.3

S.4aw

hat i

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STUDENTRESOURCE4A.4

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espo

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STUDENTRESOURCE4A.5

Whe

n th

e w

eapo

ns o

f war

fall

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e ki

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rtur

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ay h

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que

stio

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how

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t to

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g so

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fabr

ic. S

ome

peop

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at th

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st is

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soci

ety

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ld

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uild

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st, o

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re

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n pu

t in

plac

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tate

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ew o

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spon

sibi

lity

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ar c

rimes

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ivil

terr

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busi

ness

of g

over

ning

once

the

confl

ict i

s ove

r. W

here

sile

nce

is a

n ex

plic

it ch

oice

, it i

s oft

en li

nked

w

ith g

rant

s of a

mne

sty

or p

ardo

ns.

Such

am

nest

y sh

ield

s mem

bers

of

the

form

er g

over

nmen

t fro

m fa

cing

le

gal q

uest

ions

abo

ut v

iola

tions

th

at o

ccur

red

durin

g th

e tim

e th

ey

cont

rolle

d th

e m

achi

nery

of s

tate

.

In th

e sh

ort t

erm

, for

gett

ing

or

igno

ring

the

abus

es o

f the

pas

t can

ap

pear

to b

e th

e qu

icke

st m

eans

to

shift

from

a w

artim

e or

tota

litar

ian

regi

me

to a

new

form

of g

over

nanc

e.

Choo

sing

such

sile

nce

is w

hat m

any

vict

ims f

ear,

for i

t im

plie

s lac

k of

re

spec

t for

the

hurt

that

indi

vidu

als

and

targ

eted

gro

ups m

ay h

ave

suffe

red.

Sile

nce

feel

s lik

e de

nial

. In

her

dis

cuss

ion

of th

e fa

ilure

to

pros

ecut

e th

e St

asi (

form

er E

ast

Ger

man

Sec

ret P

olic

e) w

ho e

nfor

ced

Com

mun

ist r

ule

until

198

9, T

ina

Rose

nber

g ob

serv

es th

at si

nce

no

one

was

pun

ishe

d fo

r tor

ture

and

ot

her a

buse

s the

feel

ing

was

, “it

mus

t no

t hav

e ha

ppen

ed.”1 In

the

wor

ds

of sc

hola

r Ary

eh N

eier

, “Pe

acef

ul

coex

iste

nce

seem

s muc

h le

ss li

kely

if

thos

e w

ho w

ere

vict

imiz

ed se

e no

one

cal

led

to a

ccou

nt fo

r the

ir su

fferin

g.” 2 A

pol

icy

of fo

rget

ting

can

mea

n th

at re

sent

men

t lie

s bur

ied

in

the

vict

im’s

hear

t, al

low

ing

it to

fest

er,

with

out o

fferin

g a

heal

ing

alte

rnat

ive.

Sour

ce: C

ryst

al C

. Cam

pbel

l, un

publ

ishe

d pa

per.

1 Ti

na R

osen

berg

, The

Hau

nted

Lan

d, F

acin

g Eu

rope

’s G

host

s Afte

r Com

mun

ism

, Vin

tage

Boo

ks,

New

Yor

k, 1

996.

2 A

ryeh

Nei

er, B

ruta

lity,

Gen

ocid

e, Te

rror

and

the

Stru

ggle

for J

ustic

e, T

imes

Boo

ks, N

ew Y

ork,

199

8.

A lo

ok a

t soc

ieta

l sile

nce

afte

r vio

latio

nsS.4a


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE (1/3)4A.6

A P

UB

LIC

DEB

ATE

IN F

RA

NCE

From

195

4 to

196

2, F

ranc

e w

aged

w

ar o

n pr

o-in

depe

nden

ce fi

ghte

rs

in A

lger

ia, t

hen

a Fr

ench

col

ony.

At

roci

ties w

ere

com

mitt

ed b

y bo

th

side

s. Th

e w

ar e

nded

in 1

962,

and

A

lger

ia b

ecam

e an

inde

pend

ent

coun

try.

A g

ener

al a

mne

sty

was

pr

ocla

imed

for t

hose

on

both

side

s w

ho h

ad c

omm

itted

atr

ociti

es. F

or

alm

ost t

he n

ext 4

0 ye

ars i

n Fr

ance

the

exce

sses

of t

he F

renc

h ar

my

in A

lger

ia

wou

ld b

e co

ndem

ned

in b

ooks

and

in

artic

les.

How

ever

, the

re w

ould

be

no

broa

d pu

blic

deb

ate

on th

e su

bjec

t.

Then

, in

2000

, Lou

iset

te Ig

hila

hriz

, a

form

er A

lger

ian

mili

tant

who

was

to

rtur

ed fo

r thr

ee m

onth

s in

1957

, sp

oke

out p

ublic

ly. F

renc

h ge

nera

ls

impl

icat

ed b

y he

r acc

ount

reac

ted,

an

d a

broa

d pu

blic

deb

ate

final

ly g

ot

unde

r way

in F

ranc

e. S

ides

wer

e ta

ken

and

a gr

eat m

any

artic

les,

book

s and

do

cum

enta

ries w

ere

prod

uced

. The

vi

ews o

f his

toria

ns a

nd p

oliti

cian

s w

ere

soug

ht a

nd g

iven

.

A g

roup

of F

renc

h sc

hola

rs c

alle

d on

th

e Fr

ench

gov

ernm

ent t

o se

t the

re

cord

str

aigh

t by

reco

gniz

ing

and

cond

emni

ng th

e in

cide

nts

of to

rtur

e

that

took

pla

ce d

urin

g th

e w

ar in

A

lger

ia. O

ver 3

00 g

ener

als

who

had

se

rved

in A

lger

ia s

igne

d a

decl

arat

ion

in s

uppo

rt o

f thi

s eff

ort.

They

cla

imed

th

at to

rtur

e an

d ot

her c

rimes

had

in

deed

bee

n co

mm

itted

, but

on

a ve

rysm

alls

cale;the

ystre

ssed

that

the

polit

ical

aut

horit

ies

had

give

n th

e ar

my

too

muc

h fr

eedo

m a

t the

tim

e.

The

prim

e m

inis

ter o

f Fra

nce

said

that

he

did

not

bel

ieve

that

unc

over

ing

the

trut

h w

ould

wea

ken

the

natio

n.

On

the

cont

rary

, he

clai

med

that

it

wou

ld s

tren

gthe

n th

e na

tion

by

allo

win

g it

to b

uild

its

futu

re o

n th

e le

sson

s of

the

past

. The

pre

side

nt

of th

e co

untr

y to

ok a

diff

eren

t vie

w

and

argu

ed a

gain

st re

open

ing

old

wou

nds.

Som

e m

embe

rs o

f the

Fr

ench

par

liam

ent p

ropo

sed

that

a

com

mis

sion

of i

nqui

ry b

e se

t up

to

look

into

the

crim

es c

omm

itted

by

Fran

ce. T

he c

omm

issi

on w

ould

see

k to

est

ablis

h th

e tr

uth

and

sugg

est

way

s to

com

pens

ate

the

vict

ims.

This

pr

opos

al w

as e

vent

ually

reje

cted

.

In 2

001,

Gen

eral

Pau

l Aus

sare

sses

, w

ho se

rved

as a

n in

telli

genc

e offi

cer i

n A

lger

ia fr

om 1

955

to 1

957,

pu

blis

hed

a bo

ok in

whi

ch h

e cl

aim

ed

that

the

Fren

ch g

over

nmen

t tol

erat

ed

the

use

of to

rtur

e an

d su

mm

ary

exec

utions

;the

aut

hora

dmitt

edto

ta

king

par

t in

such

act

s him

self.

A n

umbe

r of s

uits

wer

e so

on fi

led

agai

nst t

he G

ener

al. L

ouis

ette

Ig

hila

hriz

was

am

ong

thos

e w

ho

sued

. How

ever

, as t

he re

sult

of a

Fr

ench

law

of 1

968,

whi

ch g

ave

amne

sty

for a

ll ac

ts c

omm

itted

du

ring

the

Alg

eria

n w

ar, a

judg

e re

fuse

d to

take

act

ion

agai

nst t

he

Gen

eral

. The

dec

isio

n w

as c

onfir

med

on

app

eal.

In a

noth

er c

ase,

the

Gen

eral

was

forc

ed to

pay

a fi

ne o

f 7,

500

euro

s, as

pun

ishm

ent f

or h

is

actio

ns in

Alg

eria

. Tw

o m

onth

s lat

er,

the

high

est c

ourt

in F

ranc

e co

nfirm

ed

that

he

coul

d no

t be

trie

d fo

r co

mm

ittin

g cr

imes

aga

inst

hum

anity

.

Is it

too

late

?S.4a


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


Abo

ut re

spon

sibi

lity:

Prim

ary

resp

onsi

bilit

y re

sts w

ith th

e po

litic

al a

utho

ritie

s, w

ho k

new

full

wel

l wha

t was

goi

ng o

n an

d sh

ould

no

t hav

e gi

ven

cart

e bl

anch

e* to

the

mili

tary

.–

Hug

ues

Dal

leau

, Pre

side

nt o

f the

Fr

ench

Nat

iona

l Uni

on o

f Vet

eran

s

* Ca

rte

blan

che:

unl

imite

d au

thor

ity to

do

as

one

plea

ses.

If th

e Fr

ench

gov

ernm

ent d

id n

ot w

ant

tort

ure,

it sh

ould

hav

e sa

id so

cle

arly

an

d offi

cial

ly. I

f, in

the

abse

nce

of c

lear

in

stru

ctio

ns, t

he a

rmy

did

not w

ant

tort

ure

– to

pre

serv

e its

ow

n ho

nour

or

that

of F

ranc

e –

the

hier

arch

y sh

ould

ha

ve sa

id so

exp

licitl

y.–

Roge

r Mon

ié, l

ieut

enan

t in

the

Fren

ch re

serv

e ar

my

VO

ICES

Seni

or F

renc

h offi

cers

who

ser

ved

in th

e A

lger

ian

war

:N

o, to

rtur

e is

not

indi

spen

sabl

e in

tim

es

of w

ar. O

ne ca

n pe

rfec

tly w

ell m

anag

e w

ithou

t. It

sadd

ens m

e w

hen

I thi

nk

back

to A

lger

ia, b

ecau

se to

rtur

e w

as

part

of t

he m

inds

et o

f the

per

iod.

We

coul

d ha

ve d

one

thin

gs d

iffer

ently

.–

Gen

eral

Jacq

ues

Mas

su

I’ve

neve

r lik

ed to

rtur

e, b

ut I d

ecid

ed

I was

goi

ng to

hav

e to

use

it w

hen

I arr

ived

in A

lgie

rs. I

t was

alre

ady

stan

dard

pra

ctic

e by

then

. Giv

en th

e sa

me

circ

umst

ance

s, I’d

do

the

sam

e ag

ain;

I don

’t be

lieve

ther

e’s a

ny

alte

rnat

ive.

Hav

ing

said

that

, I sh

ould

ad

d th

at I u

sual

ly o

btai

ned

good

resu

lts

with

out a

ny to

rtur

e w

hats

oeve

r. I w

ould

ev

en sa

y th

at m

y gr

eate

st su

cces

ses

wer

e ac

hiev

ed w

ithou

t a si

ngle

blo

w

to th

e pe

rson

und

er in

terr

ogat

ion.

But

th

ere

are

situa

tions

whe

re th

at ju

st

does

n’t w

ork,

whe

n yo

u’re

ope

ratin

g un

der g

reat

tim

e pr

essu

re.

I wou

ld b

e opp

osed

to th

e ide

a of

the

Fren

ch St

ate a

polo

gizin

g to

day.

We h

ave

noth

ing

to a

polo

gize

for. A

ckno

wle

dge

spec

ific f

acts

, by a

ll mea

ns, b

ut w

ithou

t ge

nera

lizin

g. I p

erso

nally

hav

e no

regr

ets.

– G

ener

al P

aul A

ussa

ress

es

My

sole

conc

ern

is to

und

erst

and

how

a

civi

lized

peo

ple

can

slip

bac

k in

to

barb

aris

m. I

f we

are

to p

reve

nt su

ch a

sh

amef

ul e

piso

de fr

om re

curr

ing

we

mus

t loo

k it

squa

re in

the

face

– te

ll th

e tr

uth

abou

t the

pol

itica

l bac

kgro

und

to th

e to

rtur

e. W

e do

not

wan

t our

sons

to

dis

cove

r hor

ror a

long

thei

r roa

d th

roug

h lif

e, a

nd sh

ame

in th

eir h

eart

s, ju

st b

ecau

se th

eir f

athe

rs li

ed.

– Ja

cque

s Ju

lliar

d, fo

rmer

offi

cer w

ho

serv

ed in

Alg

eria

Abo

ut s

oldi

ers:

Vete

rans

feel

they

are

bei

ng m

alig

ned

by th

e w

ay a

ccus

atio

ns o

f tor

ture

are

le

velle

d at

all

two

mill

ion

of th

ose

who

se

rved

in th

is w

ar a

nd h

ave

a cl

ear

cons

cien

ce o

n th

e su

bjec

t.–

Wla

dysl

as M

arek

, Fre

nch

corp

oral

in

Alg

iers

from

196

0 to

196

2

Very

few

cons

crip

ts g

ot in

volv

ed in

to

rtur

e. B

ut m

any o

f the

m kn

ew a

bout

it,

saw

it, a

nd sa

id n

othi

ng, b

ecau

se

resis

ting

mili

tary

disc

iplin

e req

uire

s an

abo

ve-a

vera

ge d

egre

e of c

oura

ge.

Ther

e was

a g

ener

al cl

imat

e of r

acism

an

d, a

bove

all,

of co

ntem

pt in

here

nt in

th

e col

onia

l war

s tha

t mad

e it p

ossib

le

to ta

ke th

is pa

ssiv

e atti

tude

tow

ards

vi

olen

ce.

– G

eorg

es D

ouss

in, P

resi

dent

of t

he

Fren

ch V

eter

ans

and

War

Vic

tims

Ass

ocia

tion

Cons

crip

ts w

ere a

fraid

of w

hat w

ould

ha

ppen

to th

em if

they

arg

ued

or re

fuse

d to

carr

y out

ord

ers,

espe

cial

ly w

ith re

gard

to

tort

ure.

All o

f the

m, w

ithou

t exc

eptio

n,

at le

ast h

eard

or s

aw to

rtur

e bei

ng

carri

ed o

ut. T

hey t

ell m

e the

ir re

al tr

aum

a st

ems f

rom

the f

act t

hat t

hey d

idn’

t say

no

at t

he ti

me;

that

they

wer

e 20

year

s ol

d an

d co

uldn

’t br

ing

them

selv

es to

take

a

stan

d.–

Mar

ie-O

dile

God

ard,

Fre

nch

psyc

holo

gist

Is it

too

late

?S.4a


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


Ther

e is

a ne

ed to

faci

litat

e di

scus

sion

of th

ese

sham

eful

epi

sode

s: op

en u

p th

e ar

chiv

es m

ore,

gat

her a

ccou

nts

from

witn

esse

s, lis

ten

to d

iffer

ent p

oint

s of

vie

w. A

coun

try

can

lear

n m

ore

from

th

e bl

acke

r pag

es o

f its

hist

ory

than

fro

m th

ose

in w

hich

it p

ortr

ays i

tsel

f as

a da

shin

g he

ro o

r inn

ocen

t vic

tim.

– Tz

veta

n To

doro

v, F

ranc

o-Bu

lgar

ian

liter

ary

theo

rist

To re

cogn

ize

thos

e cr

imes

wou

ld c

lear

th

e ai

r and

est

ablis

h a

soun

d ba

sis f

or

the

allia

nce

trea

ty. I

am

not

of t

hose

w

ho b

elie

ve w

e m

ust c

onst

antly

dw

ell

on th

e pa

st, b

ut ig

nora

nce

of th

e pa

st

can

be d

ange

rous

. We

mus

t acc

ept t

he

fact

s of o

ur o

wn

hist

ory.

I wou

ld li

ke to

se

e th

e tw

o co

untr

ies d

raw

clo

ser,

but

not a

t the

pric

e of

era

sing

his

tory

.–

Bach

ir Bo

umaz

a, A

lger

ian

polit

icia

n

As fo

r the

reco

gniti

on o

f all

this

by

the

Fren

ch S

tate

, if t

hat w

ere

to h

appe

n –

and

the

soon

er it

did

, the

bet

ter –

it

wou

ld h

elp

reha

bilit

ate

your

coun

try

and

confi

rm it

s tra

ditio

n of

resp

ect f

or

hum

an v

alue

s.–

Driff

a Be

n M

’Hid

i, si

ster

of L

arbi

Ben

M

’Hid

i (w

ho w

as m

urde

red

in th

e pr

esen

ce o

f Gen

eral

Aus

sare

sses

)

I am

ask

ing

for m

oral

repa

ratio

n. I

am a

skin

g th

e Fr

ench

aut

horit

ies t

o re

cogn

ize

that

they

reso

rted

to th

e de

spic

able

pra

ctic

e of

tort

ure

durin

g th

e Al

geria

n W

ar.

– Lo

uise

tte

Ighi

lahr

iz

To m

any

in F

ranc

e at

the

time,

tort

ure

seem

ed a

bas

ical

ly ju

stifi

ed re

spon

se

to th

e at

roci

ties c

omm

itted

by

the

Alge

rian

natio

nalis

ts.

– Be

njam

in S

tora

, Fre

nch

hi

stor

y pr

ofes

sor

The

Fren

ch S

tate

is re

spon

sible

for i

ts

arm

y and

for w

hat i

ts a

rmy d

id d

urin

g th

e Al

geria

n w

ar. It

shou

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?S.4a

19Exploring Humanitarian LawExPLORATION 4B: JUDICIAL OPTIONS EHL

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sExploration 4A introduced students to the reasons for dealing with violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and to different ways of doing so. Explorations 4B and 4C look more closely at specific mechanisms for addressing serious violations of IHL.

In Exploration 4B, students explore the efforts that have been made at various levels, since World War II, to bring perpetrators of serious IHL violations to trial. They look at examples of national, international and ‘hybrid’ courts and compare these different ways of administering justice.

OBJECTIVES• torecognizethatStatesmustbringtotrialthosewhocommitgravebreachesofIHL,regardlessofthenationalityoftheperpetratororthevictimorwherethecrimetookplace

• toacquireanunderstandingofthedifferentjudicialwaysofdealingwithwarcrimes(national,international,‘hybrid’courts)

• torealizethatthesejudicialapproachescomplementeachotherandthatallcontributetotheinternationalcommunity’seffortstobringwarcriminalstojustice

4B TEACHER

RESOURCES

4B.1 Judicialoptions

STUDENT4B RESOURCES

4B.2 ‘Foreigncases’beforenationaltribunals4B.3 VoicesfromNuremberg4B.4 TheNurembergPrinciples4B.5 Towardsanewtypeofcourt4B.6 Adhocinternationalcriminaltribunals4B.7 ThepermanentInternationalCriminal

Court4B.8 ‘Hybrid’courts4B.9 Howcannationalcourtshelpadhoc

internationalcriminaltribunals?

PREPARATION

Choose which tribunal (Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia) you will use in step 4.

Plan how to work through the exploration in light of available class time. Assign all preparatory reading and writing for homework (the reading and writing in step 3 and the reading in preparation for the debate in step 6).

In the Methodology Guide, review teaching methods 1 (Discussion), 5 (Role-playing), 7 (Writing and reflecting), 9 (Small groups) and 10 (Gathering stories and news).

TIME

Three 45-minute sessions (longer if all work is done during class sessions)

4BExploration 4B: Judicial options

Exploring Humanitarian LawExPLORATION 4B: JUDICIAL OPTIONS EHL 20

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s1. INTRODUCTION (5 minutes)Find out what students know about judicial efforts to address war crimes.

Possible question:

> Do you know of any war criminals who have been brought to trial?

2. NATIONAL WAR CRIMES TRIBUNALS (20 minutes)Remind students that the Geneva Conventions require governments to try and punish those who commit grave breaches of IHL.

Explain that these crimes are so serious that governments are, in fact, obliged to try and punish any person, regardless of:

• hisorhernationality;• thenationalityofthevictim;or• theplacewherethecrimeoccurred.

Then divide the class into small groups. Assign one of the examples in “’Foreign cases’ before national tribunals” to half the groups and the other example to the other half.

STUDENT4B.2 RESOURCES

Instruct the groups to study the case assigned to them and to prepare answers to the

questions at the end.

After about 10 minutes, have each group report to the class.

During their reports, list the reasons given by students and explain anything they may not have understood.

3. THE PRECEDENT SET AT NUREMBERG (45 minutes, additional time, if the reading is done in class)

With the help of the teacher resource, present the basic facts about the first international military tribunal, convened in 1945 in Nuremberg, Germany (make a brief reference to the similar tribunal established in Tokyo, Japan).

Give each student one of the three pages from “Voices from Nuremberg”:

• “OnthepurposeoftheNurembergtrials”–excerptsfromprosecutors’statements,whichreflecttheirsenseoftheimportanceoftheTribunal;

• “Defendants’finalstatements”–excerptsfromstatementsmadebyfourofthe defendants, which reflect their views on their actions and whether they thoughttheywereguiltyofwrongdoing;

• “TheTribunal’srulings”–excerptsfromthejudges’statements,whichreflecttheir responses to the arguments presented.

4B.1 TEACHER

RESOURCES


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sInstruct students to read their pages and to answer the questions as homework.

In class, have them discuss their answers with a partner or with a small group of students who were given the same page.

After about 10 minutes, reconvene the class and discuss all the questions.

Conclude by having students read “The Nuremberg Principles” to focus on the law that was developed by the tribunal.


4. AD HOC INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNALS (30 minutes)Check that students understand what ad hoc means. Give them an example of its use in a sentence.

Next, encourage students to share what they know about the violence that occurred during the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia or in Rwanda.

NOTE

If needed, tell students that the term ‘ad hoc’ generally refers to a solution designed for a specific problem. The literal meaning of the term is ‘for this purpose.’

Distribute copies of the “Towards a new type of court: The situation in the former Yugoslavia” page or the “Towards a new type of court: The situation in Rwanda” page, depending on the case you have chosen.


Divide students into small groups, and have each group write down their ideas for setting up an ad hoc international criminal tribunal to deal with the case that has been chosen. Ask them to make use of the questions at the end.

When they have done this, distribute “Ad hoc international criminal tribunals.” STUDENT4B.6 RESOURCES

Instruct the groups to compare their ideas with the information given in the fact sheet.

Explain that the fact sheet tells them about another ad hoc tribunal as well (one established to deal with war crimes committed in a context different from the one they have been asked to think about, either the former Yugoslavia or Rwanda). Note the acronym for each.

Then reconvene the class to discuss what they have learned.

Possible questions:

> Did anything in the fact sheet surprise you?> What are the similarities between the two tribunals?> What are the differences between them?

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s5. THE PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (25 minutes)

Ask students to read “The permanent International Criminal Court” and to discuss the question at the end.

Then have them work in pairs to prepare some quiz game questions about the International Criminal Court (ICC). If time permits, they can also prepare a few bonus questions on the similarities and differences between the ad hoc international criminal tribunals and the ICC, using “Ad hoc international criminal tribunals.”



Conduct a quiz game based on their questions. Divide the class into two quiz teams. Have students from each quiz team take turns posing one of their questions to the other quiz team. A team earns a point when one of its members answers correctly.

6. ‘HYBRID’ COURTS (25 minutes, additional time, if the reading is done in class)Tell students that following recent war crimes trials in both national and international courts, a new approach is emerging. It takes the form of ‘hybrid’ courts, which try to take advantage of the most useful elements of both national and international courts.

Possible question:

> If you were to design a new type of court that combined elements of international and national courts, what would your court be like?

Divide the class into four debate teams. Distribute the “’Hybrid’ courts: Special Court for Sierra Leone” page to two of the groups and the “’Hybrid’ courts: Special Panels for Serious Crimes in Timor-Leste” page to the other two.


Explain that each team must be prepared to either support or oppose the following statement:

‘Hybrid’ courts are more effective than international or national tribunals.

Assign debate positions:

• Team1:SierraLeone–supportthestatement;• Team2:SierraLeone–opposethestatement;• Team3:Timor-Leste–supportthestatement;• Team4:Timor-Leste–opposethestatement.

As homework, ask students to read the fact sheet and to think about their assigned debate positions. Give the groups time in class to prepare for the debate.

Have students choose one speaker to represent each group.

Decide the order of the proceedings (for example, you might have Sierra Leone, pro and con, followed by Timor-Leste, pro and con, or you might have those supporting the statement go first, followed by those opposing it).

Hold the debate.

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4B7. CLOSE (5 minutes)

Possible questions:

> How do you think trials and punishments could deter people from committing war crimes?

> Why do you think there are so many ways of trying and punishing war criminals?

! KEY IDEAS

• StatesmustbringtotrialandpunishthosewhocommitgravebreachesofIHL, regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator or the victim or where the crime took place.

• Effortshavebeenmadeatdifferenttimesandatvariouslevelstotryandtopunish war criminals.

• WhilejudicialwaysofdealingwithIHLviolationsmaydiffer,theycomplementeach other and contribute to the common effort of the international community to bring war criminals to court.

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HISTORY, LITERATURE, CURRENT EVENTS

After reading “The Nuremburg Principles,” use examples taken from history, literature or current events to illustrate and clarify the meaning of Nuremberg Principles I-V.


A CRITICAL RESPONSE TO NUREMBERG OR A MORE RECENT TRIBUNALWrite an essay or a research paper in response to one of the following questions:

> Does the fact that the victorious Allies sat in judgment over their defeated enemies undermine the credibility of the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals?

> Does the fact that the ad hoc international criminal tribunals were established by the United Nations (UN) Security Council cast doubt on their independence?

A VICTIM’S STORY (Creative writing or dramatization)Write the story of someone (real or imaginary) who was the victim of a war crime. Cast your story as a first-person narrative. Describe the war crime (who was involved, who suffered, who else was affected, and so on). Give the victim’s reasons for wanting a particular type of court to prosecute those who were responsible.

Present the character’s story in writing or as an oral monologue.

Useinformationfromthestudentresourcesofthisexploration;drawonthenewsmedia and the Internet, if possible.

MORE ROLES FOR NATIONAL COURTS

Read “How can national courts help ad hoc international criminal tribunals?”, and respond to the questions at the end in one of the following ways:

• Writedownyourideas;• Discussthequestionswithafellowstudentorinasmallgroup.


4B


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sESSAYWrite an essay in response to one of the following statements, which express some of the aspirations and the limits of the International Criminal Court.

The governments that have made this enlightened move clearly understand that the permanent International Criminal Court represents no threat to States with an organized criminal justice system. On the contrary, it is designed only to protect those most vulnerable people whose own government, if they have one, is unable or unwilling to prosecute those who violate their most fundamental human rights.– Kofi Annan, then UN Secretary-General

I believe the Court not only can dissuade potential executioners but also can have extraordinary educational virtues... – William Bourdon, lawyer and Secretary-General of the International Federation of Human Rights

An international court (...) can judge no more than 50 accused persons a year. A permanent court concerning all the countries will have the same problem and should thus select those it will pursue according to their high level of responsibility. It is thus impossible to imagine that the struggle against impunity can rely only on international justice. It is necessary that in the medium term the national courts get involved and work actively toward a solution.– Louis Joinet, magistrate and UN Special Rapporteur on impunity

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TEACHERRESOURCE (1/4)4B.1

T.4BAlthough there are many different ways of addressing violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), the judicial approach has been preferred to others in many instances. A range of judicial options has been developed – national, international and ‘hybrid’ courts. They differ from one another in certain respects, but they all contribute to the international community’s efforts to bring alleged war criminals to trial.

NATIONAL COURTSAs with all bodies of law, there have to be ways of implementing and enforcing IHL. The Geneva Conventions require States to prevent and suppress all violations of IHL. They also require States to enact laws to prohibit grave breaches of IHL and punish those who commit them, and to search for and prosecute such persons.

In general, a State’s criminal law applies only to acts committed by its own citizens or within its territory. IHL goes further. It requires States to search for and punish all those who have committed grave breaches, regardless of the perpetrators’ or the victims’ nationality or where the crime was committed. This principle is called ‘universal jurisdiction.’

Many countries have revised their criminal codes to enable them to try – without restrictions – persons accused of committing war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. They have conducted trials for such acts on the basis of universal jurisdiction, irrespective of where the alleged crime was committed and the nationality of the alleged perpetrators or victims.

States might be particularly eager to try foreigners accused of committing war crimes before their national courts for a variety of reasons. For instance, the authorities of a particular State might feel that courts in other countries would be less zealous in pursuing injustices committed against its citizens. Also, trying foreigners for war crimes can increase a government’s popularity among its people and improve its standing in the international community.

Some early trials of this kind were connected to World War II. More recent ones include trials related to the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Afghanistan.

INTERNATIONAL COURTSDespite the obligation imposed on States to search for and punish persons alleged to have committed grave breaches of IHL, the sheer number of atrocities and the limits of national courts in trying such crimes have led the international community to assume a greater role in enforcing the law. Since the end of World War II, the international community has made significant progress in the effort to end impunity and to bring perpetrators of IHL violations to trial. Today, the administration of IHL is no longer confined to States.

•The Nuremberg and Tokyo trials World War II ended in 1945 after exacting a terrible

human toll. Millions of Jews and other members of social and political minority groups were systematically put to death, many of them exterminated in concentration camps. Millions of civilians were killed or bombarded or forced to leave their homes. Millions of soldiers were captured and detained. Cities were destroyedbyunrelentingandsystematicbombing;and the first use of atomic bombs razed the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan.

Following World War II, Nazi German and Japanese war criminals were tried by national courts in various countries around the world (among them, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, the Soviet Union, the United States and Yugoslavia).

In order to supplement efforts undertaken at the national level and to ensure that all major war criminals were brought to court, the victorious ‘Big Four’ States (Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States) created the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in the German city of Nuremberg in 1945 to try 22 high-ranking Nazi defendants for grave violations of international law. One year later, a similar body, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East (IMTFE), was established in Tokyo to hear charges against 28 Japanese defendants of significance. The newly established courts were composed mainly of prosecutors and judges from the victorious Allied Powers.

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The Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals charged defendants with crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. At Nuremberg, 19 defendants were convicted and three acquitted. The Tokyo tribunal convicted all the defendants. The Nuremberg judgments, in particular, formed the basis of the most important set of guidelines on individual criminal responsibility under international law: the Nuremberg Principles.

These trials played an important role in bringing perpetrators of the most serious international crimes to court. Moreover, they showed that a group of States could act together to hold individuals accountable for violating IHL and sent a powerful signal that the international community would not tolerate certain crimes. The trials also gave impetus to the development of IHL treaties.

Their value was nevertheless called into question by claims that they were no more than ‘victors’ justice.’ It was alleged also that soldiers from the States represented in the tribunals had committed some of the same crimes, but were not being brought to trial.

• Adhocinternationalcriminaltribunals About 40 years after the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, the

international community again took action to establish international tribunals, in response to the atrocities committed in the former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda.

In the former Yugoslavia, national authorities were largely unwilling to bring perpetrators to court, whereas in Rwanda, owing to the enormous caseload, they were simply unable to do so.

The United Nations (UN) Security Council established two international criminal tribunals to prosecute persons accused of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and granted them primacy over national courts.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was created in 1993 in The Hague, to prosecute such crimes committed since 1991 in the former Yugoslavia. The next year, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) was set up in Arusha in Tanzania, to prosecute such crimes committed in 1994 either in Rwanda or by Rwandan nationals in neighbouring countries.

The establishment of these tribunals represented a major development in the enforcement of IHL, beyond the so-called ‘victors’ justice’ of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials. The courts’ decisions have also significantly contributed to the development of IHL case-law.

However, some people have argued that such special tribunals are not the most effective way to enforce IHL, since it takes a concerted international effort, and a great deal of time and money, to establish and run them. Others have claimed that the limited jurisdiction of the tribunals detracts from efforts to bring perpetrators in other parts of the world to trial.

• ThepermanentInternationalCriminalCourt The idea of having a permanent international criminal

court had been considered at various times since the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials. The creation of the two ad hoc international criminal tribunals was a milestone in the effort to try and to punish those accused of committing serious violations of IHL. However, the jurisdiction of these ad hoc international tribunals was limited in both time and place.

A few States opposed the establishment of a permanent international criminal court. Some argued that such a court would have too much power and would be susceptible to misuse for political purposes. Others feared that some of their own practices would fall within the court’s purview. For example, States expressed their concern that such a court could try members of their armed forces who were deployed overseas, without the benefit of the safeguards available in their national courts.

Despite such objections, and after long preparatory discussions, the international community convened a diplomatic conference in Rome in 1998 and adopted the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Its authority does not supersedethatofnationalcourts;itcomplementsthe work of those national courts that are unable or unwilling to investigate or prosecute individuals responsible for the most serious crimes of international concern. The ICC’s jurisdiction is not limited to specific situations or to a certain time period.

Judicial optionsT.4B


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The establishment of the ICC is proof of the international community’s commitment to ensuring that individuals who commit serious IHL violations do not go unpunished. As a permanent court, the ICC brings an element of continuity to efforts to enforce IHL.

‘HYBRID’ COURTS‘Hybrid’ courts combine international and national elements and try to maximize the advantages of each. In light of the lessons offered by the experience of both national and international courts, ‘hybrid’ courts have raised great expectations in some parts of the world.

Examples of ‘hybrid’ courts include the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Extraordinary Chambers in the courts of Cambodia and the Special Panels for Serious Crimes in Timor-Leste.

‘Hybrid’ courts try to make use of some important advantages provided by international courts. They offer access to an infrastructure that might no longer exist on the national level. They attempt to profit from expertise in investigating, prosecuting and trying complex international crimes, which may not be available on the national level. ‘Hybrid’ courts also use the abilities of international experts in order to prosecute more perpetrators in less time. An impartial international staff and the availability of international financial resources also contribute to their effectiveness.

At the same time, ‘hybrid’ courts include some important features of national courts. ‘Hybrid’ courts rely on local judges and prosecutors, who are familiar with the circumstances in which the crimes were committed, use local languages and know national law. Such elements bring ‘hybrid’ courts closer to the

‘local’ realities and may make them more acceptable to the local population. Owing to the inclusion of certain national elements, ‘hybrid’ courts are also considered more efficient and less expensive than international courts and to have a lasting impact on the development of national structures.

Although the work of ‘hybrid’ courts is promising, some problems have arisen, which may pose serious obstacles to their functioning. They are often understaffed. They may not receive adequate funding or might cause funds to be diverted from the local judicial system. Also, local governments might be able to influence the judges in ‘hybrid’ courts and might refuse to recognize the legitimacy of such courts.

Sources: Irwin Cotler (ed.), Nuremberg Forty Years Later, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 1995. Telford Taylor, The Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials, Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1992. Machteld Boot (ed.), Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, War Crimes: Nullum Crimen Sine Lege and the Subject Matter Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, Intersentia, Antwerp, 2002. The United Nations War Crimes Commission, History of the United Nations War Crimes Commission and the Development of the Laws of War, His Majesty’s Stationery Office, London, 1948. Yuki Tanaka, Hidden Horrors, Westview Press, Boulder CO, 1996. Timothy L.H. McCormack, Gerry J. Simpson (eds), The Law of War Crimes, Kluwer International Law, The Hague, 1997. Sarah M.H. Nouwen, “’Hybrid courts’ – The hybrid category of a new type of international crimes courts,” Utrecht Law Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, December 2006. Robin Gei, Noëmi Bulinckx, “International and internationalized criminal tribunals: a synopsis,” International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 88, No. 861, March 2006. Benjamin B. Ferencz, An International Criminal Court. A Step Toward World Peace: A Documentary History and Analysis, Vol. I, Oceana Publications, Inc., New York, 1980. Opening statement of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, Rome, 15 June -17 July 1998. Official Records Volume II, Summary records of the plenary meetings and of the meetings of the Committee of the Whole: A/CONF.183/13 (Vol. 11). Explanation of vote by Mr Dilip Lahiri, head of the Indian delegation, on the adoption of the Statute of the International Court, 17 July 1998 (http://www.un.org/icc/speeches/717ind.htm). Robinson Everett, “American service members and the ICC,” in Sarah B. Sewall, Carl Kaysen (eds), The United States and the International Criminal Court, Rowman and Littlefield, Lenham MD, 2000.

Judicial optionsT.4B

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tiona

l law

Who

& W

here

?Co

mm

itted

by

Ger

man

nat

iona

ls

and

natio

nals

of

Alli

ed P

ower

s

Com

mitt

ed b

y Ja

pane

se n

atio

nals

an

d na

tiona

ls o

f A

llied

Pow

ers

Com

mitt

ed b

y so

meo

ne o

n th

e te

rrito

ry o

f the

fo

rmer

Yug

osla

via

Com

mitt

ed b

y so

meo

ne o

n th

e te

rrito

ry o

f Rw

anda

or

by R

wan

dan

natio

nals

in

nei

ghbo

urin

g co

untr

ies

Com

mitt

ed b

y so

meo

ne o

n th

e te

rrito

ry o

f a S

tate

pa

rty

to th

e tr

eaty

or

by

its n

atio

nals

el

sew

here

Com

mitt

ed b

y so

meo

ne in

rela

tion

to th

e ev

ents

in

Tim

or-L

este

Com

mitt

ed b

y so

meo

ne o

n th

e te

rrito

ry o

f Sie

rra

Leon

e

Whe

n?D

urin

g W

W II

Sinc

e 19

91D

urin

g 19

94A

fter

1 Ju

ly 2

002

Betw

een

1 Ja

nuar

y an

d 25

Oct

ober

199

9Si

nce

30 N

ovem

ber

1996

Rela

tion

ship

w

ith

nati

onal

co

urts

Prim

acy

over

nat

iona

l cou

rts

Com

plem

enta

ry to

na

tiona

l cou

rts

– on

ly a

cts

if na

tiona

l co

urts

are

unw

illin

g or

una

ble

to a

ct

Excl

usiv

e ju

risdi

ctio

n ov

er o

ffenc

es li

sted

Prim

acy

over

na

tiona

l cou

rts

* F

ootn

ote:

IMT:In

tern

ationa

lMilita

ryTrib

unalofN

urem

berg

;IM

TFE:In

tern

ationa

lMilita

ryTrib

unalfo

rthe

FarEas

t;IC

TY: Int

erna

tiona

lCrim

inalTrib

unalfo

rthe

form

erYug

oslavia;IC

TR: I

nter

natio

nal C

rimin

al T

ribun

al fo

r Rw

anda

;ICC

:Int

erna

tiona

lCrim

inalCou

rt;S

PSC:

Spe

cialPan

elsfo

rSer

ious

Crim

esin

Tim

or-Les

te;S

CSL:

Spe

cial

Cou

rt fo

r Sie

rra

Leon

e

T.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE4B.2

s.4BU

nder

the

Gen

eva

Conv

entio

ns,

Stat

es a

re re

spon

sibl

e fo

r br

ingi

ng v

iola

tors

of i

nter

natio

nal

hum

anita

rian

law

(IH

L) to

cou

rt,

rega

rdle

ss o

f the

nat

iona

lity

of th

e pe

rpet

rato

r or t

he v

ictim

or w

heth

er

the

crim

e w

as c

omm

itted

in th

e St

ate

tryi

ng th

e ca

se o

r som

ewhe

re e

lse.

Her

e ar

e tw

o in

stan

ces

of

perp

etra

tors

bei

ng b

roug

ht b

efor

e fo

reig

n co

urts

.

EXA

MPL

E 1:

The

may

or o

f Mus

huba

ti (a

di

stric

t of R

wan

da) w

as b

roug

ht

befo

re a

Sw

iss

mili

tary

cou

rt

in 1

999.

He

was

con

vict

ed o

f a

rang

e of

crim

es c

omm

itted

du

ring

the

1994

gen

ocid

e,

incl

udin

g w

ar c

rimes

and

m

urde

r. Th

e co

nvic

tion

was

up

held

on

appe

al.

EXA

MPL

E 2:

Mak

sim

Sok

olov

ic, a

Bos

nian

Se

rb, w

as b

roug

ht to

tria

l in

Ger

man

y fo

r crim

es h

e ha

d al

lege

dly

com

mitt

ed d

urin

g th

e co

nflic

t in

the

form

er Y

ugos

lavi

a.

A G

erm

an c

ourt

foun

d hi

m g

uilty

in

199

9 of

gen

ocid

e an

d w

ar

crim

es a

nd s

ente

nced

him

to

nine

yea

rs in

pris

on. O

n ap

peal

, th

e co

urt r

uled

that

no

link

was

re

quire

d be

twee

n G

erm

any

and

the

crim

e, th

e pe

rpet

rato

r, or

the

vict

im fo

r Ger

man

cou

rts

to a

ct

in s

uch

case

s.

Som

e pe

ople

arg

ue th

at w

hen

a co

urt i

n on

e co

untr

y tr

ies

fore

igne

rs

for c

rimes

com

mitt

ed b

eyon

d th

at c

ount

ry’s

bord

ers,

the

cour

t is

inte

rfer

ing

in a

noth

er c

ount

ry’s

inte

rnal

affa

irs.

Que

stio

ns:

> D

o yo

u ag

ree?

Why

or

why

not

?>

Wha

t rea

sons

mig

ht a

tr

ibun

al g

ive

for t

ryin

g su

ch

‘fore

ign

case

s’?

‘For

eign

cas

es’ b

efor

e na

tiona

l trib

unal

s


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE (1/3)4B.3

From

the

open

ing

stat

emen

t of

Chie

f Pro

secu

tor R

oman

Rud

enko

: In

sacr

ed m

emor

y of

mill

ions

of

inno

cent

vic

tims o

f the

fasc

ist t

erro

r, fo

r the

sake

of t

he co

nsol

idat

ion

of

peac

e th

roug

hout

the

wor

ld, f

or th

e sa

ke o

f the

futu

re se

curit

y of

nat

ions

, w

e ar

e pr

esen

ting

the

defe

ndan

ts w

ith

a ju

st a

nd co

mpl

ete

acco

unt w

hich

m

ust b

e se

ttle

d. T

his i

s an

acco

unt o

n be

half

of a

ll m

anki

nd.

Que

stio

n: W

hat w

ere

the

mai

n id

eas

of e

ach

pros

ecut

or?

(Res

tate

them

in

you

r ow

n w

ords

.)

ON

TH

E PU

RPO

SE O

F TH

E N

URE

MB

ERG

TRI

ALS

From

the

open

ing

stat

emen

t of

Chie

f Pro

secu

tor R

ober

t H. J

acks

on:

The

priv

ilege

of o

peni

ng th

e fir

st

tria

l in

hist

ory

for c

rimes

aga

inst

the

peac

e of

the

wor

ld im

pose

s a g

rave

re

spon

sibi

lity.

(...)

Tha

t fou

r gre

at

natio

ns, fl

ushe

d w

ith v

icto

ry a

nd st

ung

with

inju

ry, s

tay

the

hand

of v

enge

ance

an

d vo

lunt

arily

subm

it th

eir c

aptiv

e en

emie

s to

the

judg

emen

t of t

he la

w is

on

e of

the

mos

t sig

nific

ant t

ribut

es th

at

Pow

er h

as e

ver p

aid

to R

easo

n.

...The

re is

a d

ram

atic

dis

parit

y be

twee

n th

e ci

rcum

stan

ces o

f the

acc

user

s and

of

the

accu

sed

that

mig

ht d

iscr

edit

our

wor

k if

we

shou

ld fa

lter (

...) i

n be

ing

fair

and

tem

pera

te. (

...) W

e m

ust n

ever

fo

rget

that

the

reco

rd o

n w

hich

we

judg

e th

ese

defe

ndan

ts to

day

is th

e re

cord

on

whi

ch h

isto

ry w

ill ju

dge

us

tom

orro

w.

...Ci

viliz

atio

n as

ks w

heth

er la

w is

so

lagg

ard

as to

be

utte

rly h

elpl

ess t

o de

al w

ith c

rimes

of t

his m

agni

tude

by

crim

inal

s of t

his o

rder

of i

mpo

rtan

ce. I

t do

es n

ot e

xpec

t tha

t you

[the

Trib

unal

] ca

n m

ake

war

impo

ssib

le. I

t doe

s

expe

ct th

at y

our j

urid

ical

act

ion

will

pu

t the

forc

es o

f int

erna

tiona

l law

, its

pr

ecep

ts, i

ts p

rohi

bitio

ns a

nd, m

ost o

f al

l, its

sanc

tions

, on

the

side

of p

eace

...

From

the

open

ing

stat

emen

t of

Chi

ef P

rose

cuto

r Sir

Har

tley

Sh

awcr

oss:

The

Gov

ernm

ents

of t

he U

nite

d Ki

ngdo

m a

nd th

e Br

itish

Co

mm

onw

ealth

, of t

he U

nite

d St

ates

of

Am

eric

a, o

f the

Uni

on o

f Sov

iet

Soci

alis

t Rep

ublic

s, an

d of

Fra

nce,

ba

cked

by

and

on b

ehal

f of e

very

ot

her p

eace

-lovi

ng n

atio

n of

the

wor

ld, h

ave

ther

efor

e jo

ined

to b

ring

the

inve

ntor

s and

per

petr

ator

s of

this

Naz

i con

cept

ion

of in

tern

atio

nal

rela

tions

hip

befo

re th

e ba

r of t

his

Trib

unal

. The

y do

so, s

o th

at th

ese

defe

ndan

ts m

ay b

e pu

nish

ed fo

r the

ir cr

imes

.

They

do

so, a

lso,

that

thei

r con

duct

m

ay b

e ex

pose

d in

all

its n

aked

w

icke

dnes

s and

they

do

so in

the

hope

th

at th

e co

nsci

ence

and

goo

d se

nse

of

all t

he w

orld

will

see

the

cons

eque

nces

of

such

cond

uct a

nd th

e en

d to

whi

ch

inev

itabl

y it

mus

t alw

ays l

ead.

voic

es fr

om N

urem

berg

AP

s.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


...Thi

s tria

l mus

t con

trib

ute

tow

ards

pr

even

ting

such

deg

ener

ate

war

s in

the

futu

re a

nd to

war

ds e

stab

lishi

ng ru

les b

y w

hich

hum

an b

eing

s can

live

toge

ther

.

Que

stio

n: H

ow d

id th

ese

men

just

ify th

eir a

ctio

ns a

nd

wha

t, in

thei

r vie

w, w

ere

they

re

spon

sibl

e fo

r? (E

xpla

in th

eir

posi

tions

in y

our o

wn

wor

ds.)

DEF

END

AN

TS’ F

INA

L ST

ATEM

ENTS

Her

man

n G

oerin

g:(H

itler

’s se

cond

-in-c

omm

and

who

cr

eate

d th

e G

esta

po, t

he o

ffici

al

secr

et p

olic

e of

Naz

i Ger

man

y, a

nd

the

syst

em o

f con

cent

ratio

n ca

mps

)

The

only

mot

ive

whi

ch g

uide

d m

e w

as m

y ar

dent

love

for m

y pe

ople

, its

ha

ppin

ess,

its fr

eedo

m a

nd it

s life

.

Rudo

lph

Hes

s:(H

itler

’s th

ird-in

-com

man

d,

Com

man

dant

of t

he c

once

ntra

tion

cam

p in

Aus

chw

itz)

I was

per

mitt

ed to

wor

k fo

r man

y ye

ars o

f my

life

unde

r the

gre

ates

t son

w

hom

my

peop

le h

as b

roug

ht fo

rth

in

its th

ousa

nd-y

ear h

isto

ry. (

...) I

do

not

regr

et a

nyth

ing.

Wilh

elm

Kei

tel:

(Chi

ef o

f the

Hig

h Co

mm

and

of th

e G

erm

an A

rmed

For

ces)

I bel

ieve

d, b

ut I e

rred,

and

I was

not

in a

po

sitio

n to

pre

vent

wha

t oug

ht to

hav

e be

en p

reve

nted

. Tha

t is m

y gui

lt. It

is

tragi

c to

have

to re

alize

that

the b

est I

ha

d to

giv

e as a

sold

ier,

obed

ienc

e and

lo

yalty

, was

expl

oite

d fo

r pur

pose

s tha

t co

uld

not b

e rec

ogni

zed

at th

e tim

e, a

nd

that

I did

not

see t

hat t

here

is a

limit

even

fo

r a so

ldie

r’s p

erfo

rman

ce o

f his

duty

.

Alb

ert S

peer

:(M

inis

ter o

f Arm

amen

ts a

nd W

ar

Prod

uctio

n du

ring

the

war

, who

al

low

ed e

xten

sive

use

of f

orce

d la

bour

by

pris

oner

s)

This

war

has

bro

ught

an

inco

ncei

vabl

e ca

tast

roph

e, a

nd in

deed

star

ted

a w

orld

cata

stro

phe.

The

refo

re, i

t is m

y un

ques

tiona

ble

duty

to a

ssum

e m

y sh

are

of re

spon

sibi

lity

for t

he d

isas

ter

befo

re th

e G

erm

an p

eopl

e. (.

..) I,

as a

n im

port

ant m

embe

r of t

he le

ader

ship

of

the

Reic

h, th

eref

ore,

shar

e in

the

tota

l re

spon

sibi

lity,

beg

inni

ng w

ith 1

942.

voic

es fr

om N

urem

berg

AP

s.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


THE

TRIB

UN

AL’

S

RULI

NG

S

A pl

an in

the

exec

utio

n of

whi

ch a

nu

mbe

r of p

erso

ns p

artic

ipat

e is

st

ill a

pla

n, e

ven

thou

gh co

ncei

ved

by o

nly

one

of th

em. (

...) H

itler

coul

d no

t mak

e ag

gres

sive

war

by

him

self.

H

e ha

d to

hav

e th

e co

oper

atio

n of

st

ates

men

, mili

tary

lead

ers,

dipl

omat

s an

d bu

sine

ssm

en. W

hen

they

, with

kn

owle

dge

of h

is a

ims,

gave

him

thei

r co

oper

atio

n, th

ey m

ade

them

selv

es

part

ies t

o th

e pl

an. (

...) T

hat t

hey

wer

e as

sign

ed to

thei

r tas

ks b

y a

dict

ator

doe

s not

abs

olve

them

from

re

spon

sibi

lity

for t

heir

acts

.

They

[the

def

enda

nts]

hav

e bee

n re

spon

sible

in la

rge m

easu

re fo

r the

m

iserie

s and

suffe

ring

that

hav

e fal

len

on m

illio

ns o

f men

, wom

en a

nd ch

ildre

n.

They

hav

e bee

n a

disg

race

to th

e ho

nour

able

pro

fess

ion

of a

rms.

(...) M

any

of th

ese m

en h

ave m

ade a

moc

kery

of

the s

oldi

er’s

oath

of o

bedi

ence

to m

ilita

ry

orde

rs. W

hen

it su

its th

eir d

efen

ce th

ey

say t

hey h

ad to

obe

y; w

hen

conf

ront

ed

with

Hitl

er’s

brut

al cr

imes

(...) t

hey s

ay

they

diso

beye

d.

The

trut

h is

that

they

act

ivel

y pa

rtic

ipat

ed in

all

thes

e cr

imes

, or s

at

sile

nt o

r acq

uies

cent

, witn

essi

ng th

e co

mm

issi

on o

f crim

es o

n a

scal

e la

rger

an

d m

ore

shoc

king

than

the

wor

ld h

as

ever

had

the

mis

fort

une

to k

now

. (...

) W

here

the

fact

s war

rant

it (.

..) th

ose

who

are

gui

lty o

f the

se c

rimes

shou

ld

not e

scap

e pu

nish

men

t.

Que

stio

n: W

hat r

easo

ns d

id

the

Trib

unal

giv

e fo

r find

ing

defe

ndan

ts g

uilty

? (Ex

pres

s th

em in

you

r ow

n w

ords

.)

Sour

ce: T

elfo

rd Ta

ylor

, The

Ana

tom

y of t

he N

urem

berg

Tr

ials,

Litt

le, B

row

n an

d Co

., Bos

ton,

199

2.

voic

es fr

om N

urem

berg

AP

s.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

I. A

nyon

e w

ho c

arrie

s ou

t an

act t

hat i

s a

crim

e un

der i

nter

natio

nal l

aw is

resp

onsi

ble

for

it an

d sh

ould

be

puni

shed

.

II.

Even

thou

gh a

par

ticul

ar a

ct m

ay n

ot b

e pu

nish

able

und

er n

atio

nal l

aw, i

f it i

s de

emed

a

crim

e by

inte

rnat

iona

l law

, the

per

son

guilt

y of

it w

ill b

e he

ld re

spon

sibl

e.

III.

Any

one

in a

pos

ition

of a

utho

rity

(a h

ead

of s

tate

or a

gov

ernm

ent o

ffici

al, f

or in

stan

ce)

who

car

ries

out s

uch

acts

in th

at c

apac

ity w

ill b

e he

ld re

spon

sibl

e fo

r the

m.

IV.

Any

one

who

car

ries

out a

crim

inal

act

und

er o

rder

s fr

om a

sup

erio

r will

be

held

re

spon

sibl

e fo

r it.

V.

A p

erso

n ch

arge

d w

ith a

crim

e un

der i

nter

natio

nal l

aw h

as th

e rig

ht to

a fa

ir tr

ial.

VI.

Inte

rnat

iona

l crim

es a

re:

•crim

esaga

instpea

ce;

•warcrim

es;

•crim

esaga

insthum

anity

.

VII.

Part

icip

atio

n in

any

of t

he c

rimes

list

ed in

Prin

cipl

e VI

is a

crim

e un

der i

nter

natio

nal l

aw.

Sour

ce: T

he N

urem

berg

Prin

cipl

es (p

arap

hras

ed),

1946

.

STUDENTRESOURCE4B.4

The

Nur

embe

rg P

rinci

ples

s.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE4B.5

The

new

Tut

si g

over

nmen

t arr

este

d an

d ja

iled

mor

e th

an 1

10,0

00 p

eopl

e ac

cuse

d of

par

ticip

atin

g in

the

geno

cide

. How

ever

, bec

ause

the

Stat

e’s

judi

cial

sys

tem

had

col

laps

ed,

natio

nal c

ourt

s ha

d to

be

set u

p ag

ain

and

judg

es h

ad to

be

trai

ned.

Th

e nu

mbe

r of p

eopl

e aw

aitin

g tr

ial

was

ove

rwhe

lmin

g an

d re

sour

ces

very

sca

rce.

Que

stio

ns:

> W

hy s

houl

d an

ad

hoc

inte

rnat

iona

l cri

min

al

trib

unal

be

set u

p?>

Who

sho

uld

set i

t up?

> W

hat c

rim

es s

houl

d it

de

al w

ith?

> W

ho s

houl

d be

the

judg

es?

> W

here

sho

uld

it b

e lo

cate

d?>

How

sho

uld

it w

ork

wit

h na

tion

al c

ourt

s?

THE

SITU

ATIO

N IN

TH

E

FORM

ER Y

UG

OSL

AVIA

In a

refe

rend

um h

eld

in B

osni

a an

d H

erze

govi

na in

the

sprin

g of

19

92, B

osni

an M

uslim

s an

d Cr

oats

vo

ted

for i

ndep

ende

nce

from

the

Fede

ral R

epub

lic o

f Yug

osla

via.

At

the

sam

e tim

e, B

osni

an S

erbs

, who

ha

d bo

ycot

ted

the

refe

rend

um,

esta

blis

hed

thei

r ow

n go

vern

men

t.

As a

resu

lt of

thes

e ev

ents

, an

arm

ed

confl

ict b

roke

out

bet

wee

n Bo

snia

n M

uslim

and

Cro

at fo

rces

(bac

ked

by C

roat

ia) a

nd B

osni

an S

erb

forc

es

(bac

ked

by m

ilita

ry u

nits

from

Ser

bia)

. D

urin

g th

e w

ar, s

erio

us v

iola

tions

of

inte

rnat

iona

l hum

anita

rian

law

(IH

L) o

ccur

red

frequ

ently

: mas

sacr

es,

tort

ure,

rape

, for

ced

depo

rtat

ion

of

civi

lians

and

the

esta

blis

hmen

t of

conc

entr

atio

n ca

mps

.

The

fact

that

suc

h se

rious

vio

latio

ns

wer

e ta

king

pla

ce w

as c

omm

on

know

ledg

e th

roug

hout

the

Fede

ral

Repu

blic

of Y

ugos

lavi

a. F

or a

long

tim

e, h

owev

er, n

atio

nal a

utho

ritie

s w

ere

unab

le o

r unw

illin

g to

brin

g th

e pe

rpet

rato

rs to

cou

rt.

Que

stio

ns:

> W

hy s

houl

d an

ad

hoc

inte

rnat

iona

l cri

min

al

trib

unal

be

set u

p?>

Who

sho

uld

set i

t up?

> W

hat c

rim

es s

houl

d it

de

al w

ith?

> W

ho s

houl

d be

the

judg

es?

> W

here

sho

uld

it b

e lo

cate

d?>

How

sho

uld

it w

ork

wit

h na

tion

al c

ourt

s?

THE

SITU

ATIO

N

IN R

WA

ND

A

The

root

s of

the

arm

ed c

onfli

ct in

Rw

anda

lay

in o

ld te

nsio

ns b

etw

een

the

Hut

u an

d Tu

tsi e

thni

c gr

oups

, da

ting

back

to th

e co

loni

al p

erio

d w

hen

the

Tuts

i min

ority

rece

ived

be

nefit

s an

d en

joye

d a

high

er s

ocia

l st

atus

than

the

Hut

us. T

his

caus

ed

muc

h re

sent

men

t am

ong

the

Hut

us.

Whe

n th

e H

utu

maj

ority

cam

e to

po

wer

a fe

w y

ears

bef

ore

Rwan

da’s

inde

pend

ence

from

Bel

gium

in 1

962,

th

ousa

nds o

f Tut

sis w

ere

kille

d or

forc

ed

to fl

ee to

nei

ghbo

urin

g co

untr

ies.

The

child

ren

of th

ese

exile

d Tu

tsis

then

fo

rmed

a re

bel g

roup

, the

Rw

anda

n Pa

trio

tic F

ront

(RPF

). The

RPF

inva

ded

Rwan

da in

199

0, se

ttin

g off

a c

ivil

war

. Th

e w

ar, a

long

with

seve

ral p

oliti

cal

and

econ

omic

cris

es, m

ade

ethn

ic

tens

ions

wor

se. In

Apr

il 19

94, r

ough

ly

800,

000

Tuts

is an

d m

oder

ate

Hut

us

wer

e ki

lled

in a

larg

e-sc

ale

geno

cide

. Ab

out t

wo

mill

ion

Hut

u re

fuge

es fl

ed to

ne

ighb

ourin

g co

untr

ies.

Tow

ards

a n

ew ty

pe o

f cou

rts.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE4B.6

Why

wer

e th

ey s

et u

p?

The

inte

rnat

iona

l com

mun

ity

wan

ted:

•to

ens

ureth

atim

portan

twar

crim

inal

s w

ould

not

esc

ape

just

ice

andwou

ldre

ceiveafairtrial;

•to

con

tribut

eto

thepr

oces

sof

na

tiona

l rec

onci

liatio

n an

d to

the

mai

nten

ance

of p

eace

.

Who

set

them

up?

The

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

(UN

) Sec

urity

Co

unci

l set

up

the

Inte

rnat

iona

l Cr

imin

al T

ribun

al fo

r the

form

er

Yugo

slav

ia (I

CTY

) in

1993

, and

the

Inte

rnat

iona

l Crim

inal

Trib

unal

for

Rwan

da (I

CTR

) in

1994

.

Who

are

the

judg

es?

The

UN

Gen

eral

Ass

embl

y el

ects

16

judg

es fo

r eac

h ad

hoc

inte

rnat

iona

l tr

ibun

al. T

he ju

dges

serv

e fo

r fou

r ye

ars a

nd a

re d

raw

n fro

m th

roug

hout

th

e w

orld

.

Whe

re a

re th

ese

trib

unal

s lo

cate

d?Th

e IC

TY h

as it

s se

at in

The

Hag

ue,

The

Net

herla

nds.

The

ICTR

has

its

seat

in A

rush

a,

Tanz

ania

.

How

do

they

wor

k w

ith

nati

onal

co

urts

?Th

e IC

TY a

nd th

e IC

TR h

ave

prim

acy

over

nat

iona

l cou

rts.

Wha

t cri

mes

do

the

trib

unal

s de

al w

ith?

Ad

hoc

inte

rnat

iona

l crim

inal

trib

unal

s

* The

cou

rt’s

auth

ority

is n

ot li

mite

d in

tim

e, a

llow

ing

it to

con

tinue

pro

secu

ting

viol

atio

ns c

omm

itted

in

the

form

er Y

ugos

lavi

a (e

.g. i

n Ko

sovo

in 1

999

and

in M

aced

onia

in 2

001)

.

s.4B

ICTY

ICTR

Each

trib

unal

is a

utho

rized

to p

rose

cute

and

try

pers

ons

resp

onsi

ble

fo

r the

follo

win

g off

ence

s co

mm

itted

in th

e fo

rmer

Yug

osla

via

sinc

e 19

91:*

in R

wan

da (o

r by

Rwan

dans

in

neig

hbou

ring

coun

trie

s) in

199

4:

War

crim

esG

enoc

ide

Crim

es a

gain

st h

uman

ity

ICTY

AP


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

Why

was

it s

et u

p?

Sinc

e th

e N

urem

berg

and

Toky

o tr

ials

af

ter t

he e

nd o

f Wor

ld W

ar II

, the

in

tern

atio

nal c

omm

unity

had

co

nsid

ered

the

crea

tion

of a

pe

rman

ent i

nter

natio

nal c

rimin

al

cour

t. Th

e cr

eatio

n of

the

two

ad h

oc

inte

rnat

iona

l crim

inal

trib

unal

s to

de

al w

ith th

e cr

imes

com

mitt

ed in

th

e fo

rmer

Yug

osla

via

and

in R

wan

da

was

a s

igni

fican

t ste

p. H

owev

er, t

he

auth

ority

of t

hese

trib

unal

s w

as

limite

d, in

bot

h tim

e an

d pl

ace.

A p

erm

anen

t int

erna

tiona

l crim

inal

co

urt w

as n

eede

d:

•to

han

dleth

em

osts

erious

in

tern

atio

nal c

rimes

rega

rdle

ss

of w

here

and

whe

n th

ey w

ere

com

mitt

ed;

•to

gua

rant

eeth

atactionco

uld

be ta

ken

mor

e qu

ickl

y (a

n ad

hoc

in

tern

atio

nal c

rimin

al tr

ibun

al

wou

ld h

ave

to b

e se

t up

first

bef

ore

itco

uldbe

ginits

wor

k);a

nd•

toser

veasastro

nger

det

erre

nt

agai

nst v

iola

tions

of i

nter

natio

nal

hum

anita

rian

law

(IH

L).

Who

set

it u

p?Th

e In

tern

atio

nal C

rimin

al C

ourt

(IC

C) w

as s

et u

p as

an

orga

niza

tion

inde

pend

ent o

f the

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

(U

N),

thro

ugh

a tr

eaty

(the

Rom

e St

atut

e) d

ecid

ed b

y 12

0 St

ates

in

July

199

8. T

he IC

C be

gan

wor

k

on 1

July

200

2.

Wha

t crim

es d

oes t

he co

urt d

eal w

ith?

The

ICC

has

the

auth

ority

to

pros

ecut

e an

d tr

y pe

rson

s ac

cuse

d of

co

mm

ittin

g th

e fo

llow

ing

crim

es:

•Ag

gres

sion

;•

Warcrim

es;

•Gen

ocide;

•Cr

imes

aga

insthum

anity

.

In p

rinci

ple,

the

ICC’

s au

thor

ity is

no

t lim

ited

in ti

me

or to

a p

artic

ular

co

nflic

t, bu

t it c

an tr

y cr

imes

co

mm

itted

onl

y af

ter 1

July

200

2,

whe

n th

e tr

eaty

that

est

ablis

hed

the

cour

t ent

ered

into

forc

e.

Who

are

the

judg

es?

The

Cour

t is c

ompo

sed

of 1

8 ju

dges

w

ho a

re e

lect

ed fo

r a te

rm o

f nin

e ye

ars

by th

e St

ates

par

ty to

the

Rom

e St

atut

e.

Whe

re is

the

cour

t loc

ated

?Th

e IC

C is

loca

ted

in T

he H

ague

, The

N

ethe

rland

s.

How

doe

s it

wor

k w

ith

nati

onal

co

urts

?Th

e au

thor

ity o

f the

ICC

com

plem

ents

th

at o

f nat

iona

l cou

rts.

The

ICC

acts

on

ly if

a S

tate

is u

nabl

e or

unw

illin

g to

in

vest

igat

e or

pro

secu

te.

Que

stio

n: H

ow d

oes t

he

ICC

diff

er fr

om a

n ad

hoc

in

tern

atio

nal c

rimin

al tr

ibun

al?

STUDENTRESOURCE4B.7

The

perm

anen

t Int

erna

tiona

l Crim

inal

Cou

rts.4B

Wim van Cappellen/ICC-CPI


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


‘hyb

rid’ c

ourt

s: S

peci

al C

ourt

for S

ierr

a Le

one

‘Hyb

rid’ c

ourt

s mak

e us

e of

bot

h in

tern

atio

nal a

nd n

atio

nal l

aw a

s wel

l as

fore

ign

and

loca

l pro

secu

tors

and

ju

dges

. The

y ar

e ab

le to

try

mor

e ca

ses

than

pur

ely

natio

nal o

r int

erna

tiona

l co

urts

can

and

to d

o so

clo

se to

whe

re

the

crim

es w

ere

com

mitt

ed. T

hus,

they

be

nefit

from

inte

rnat

iona

l exp

ertis

e in

pr

osec

utin

g an

d tr

ying

war

crim

es a

nd

from

kno

wle

dge

of lo

cal c

ircum

stan

ces,

lang

uage

s and

cul

tura

l val

ues.

Back

grou

nd to

the

arm

ed c

onfli

ct

in S

ierr

a Le

one:

Sier

ra L

eone

suff

ered

thro

ugh

an

extr

emel

y vi

olen

t civ

il w

ar b

etw

een

1991

and

199

9, in

whi

ch a

rebe

l gr

oup

calle

d th

e Re

volu

tiona

ry

Uni

ted

Fron

t (RU

F) fo

ught

the

gove

rnm

ent.

Cont

rol o

f the

cou

ntry

’s m

iner

al re

sour

ces

was

one

of t

he

man

y is

sues

that

fuel

led

the

war

.

Serio

us v

iola

tions

of i

nter

natio

nal

hum

anita

rian

law

(IH

L) w

ere

com

mitt

ed d

urin

g th

e w

ar. A

bout

10

0,00

0 pe

ople

wer

e ki

lled.

Chi

ld

sold

iers

wer

e w

idel

y us

ed. S

exua

l vi

olen

ce a

nd th

e am

puta

tion

of

peop

le’s

limbs

wer

e so

me

of th

e m

eans

use

d to

terr

oriz

e ci

vilia

ns.

Mor

e th

an tw

o m

illio

n pe

ople

wer

e fo

rced

to fl

ee fr

om th

eir h

omes

.

Who

set

it u

p?

The

gove

rnm

ent o

f Sie

rra

Leon

e an

d th

e U

nite

d N

atio

ns (U

N) j

oint

ly s

et

up th

e Sp

ecia

l Cou

rt fo

r Sie

rra

Leon

e (S

CSL)

in 2

002.

Wha

t cri

mes

doe

s th

e co

urt d

eal

wit

h?Th

e SC

SL tr

ies s

erio

us v

iola

tions

of I

HL,

cr

imes

aga

inst

hum

anity

and

cer

tain

off

ence

s und

er n

atio

nal l

aw th

at h

ave

been

com

mitt

ed in

the

coun

try

since

30

Nov

embe

r 199

6 (th

e da

te o

f a

peac

e tr

eaty

bet

wee

n th

e go

vern

men

t an

d th

e RU

F, w

hich

late

r bro

ke d

own)

.

Who

are

the

judg

es?

Ther

e ar

e cu

rren

tly 1

1 ju

dges

: sev

en

appo

inte

d by

the

UN

and

four

by

the

gove

rnm

ent o

f Sie

rra

Leon

e. A

ll of

th

em s

erve

for t

hree

yea

rs.

Whe

re is

the

cour

t loc

ated

?In

Fre

etow

n, S

ierr

a Le

one.

How

doe

s it

wor

k w

ith

nati

onal

co

urts

?Th

e SC

SL h

as p

rimac

y ov

er th

e na

tiona

l cou

rts

of S

ierr

a Le

one.

Que

stio

ns:

> H

ow d

oes

this

cou

rt c

ombi

ne n

atio

nal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal e

lem

ents

?>

Why

mig

ht d

efen

dant

s be

sus

pici

ous

of a

nat

iona

l cou

rt? W

hy

mig

ht v

icti

ms?

> W

hy m

ight

vic

tim

s m

istr

ust a

n in

tern

atio

nal c

ourt

? Why

mig

ht

defe

ndan

ts?

Sylvain Savolainen

s.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


‘hyb

rid’ c

ourt

s: S

peci

al P

anel

s fo

r Ser

ious

Crim

es in

Tim

or-L

este

‘Hyb

rid’ c

ourt

s m

ake

use

of b

oth

inte

rnat

iona

l and

nat

iona

l law

as

wel

l as

fore

ign

and

loca

l pro

secu

tors

an

d ju

dges

. The

y ar

e ab

le to

try

mor

e ca

ses

than

pur

ely

natio

nal o

r in

tern

atio

nal c

ourt

s ca

n an

d to

do

so c

lose

to w

here

the

crim

es w

ere

com

mitt

ed. T

hus,

they

ben

efit f

rom

in

tern

atio

nal e

xper

tise

in p

rose

cutin

g an

d tr

ying

war

crim

es a

nd fr

om

know

ledg

e of

loca

l circ

umst

ance

s, la

ngua

ges

and

cultu

ral v

alue

s.

Back

grou

nd to

the

arm

ed c

onfli

ct

in T

imor

-Les

te:

Tim

or-L

este

had

bee

n a

Port

ugue

se

colo

ny s

ince

the

sixt

eent

h ce

ntur

y.

In 1

975,

dis

cuss

ions

rela

ted

to

its in

depe

nden

ce fr

om P

ortu

gal

led

to v

iole

nt c

lash

es b

etw

een

peop

le fa

vour

ing

inde

pend

ence

an

d ot

hers

who

wan

ted

Tim

or-

Lest

e to

bec

ome

part

of I

ndon

esia

. D

urin

g th

is p

erio

d, P

ortu

gal l

eft

Tim

or-L

este

and

Indo

nesi

a in

vade

d it.

Aft

er th

e pe

ople

of T

imor

-Le

ste

vote

d fo

r ind

epen

denc

e in

19

99, t

he In

done

sian

arm

y an

d pr

o-In

done

sian

Tim

ores

e m

ilitia

s m

urde

red

an e

stim

ated

1,4

00 p

eopl

e an

d fo

rced

som

e 40

0,00

0 to

flee

fr

om th

eir h

omes

. The

atr

ociti

es th

ey

com

mitt

ed in

clud

ed m

ass

killi

ngs,

sexu

al o

ffenc

es a

nd th

e sy

stem

atic

de

stru

ctio

n of

civ

ilian

pro

pert

y.

Who

set

them

up?

U

nder

inte

rnat

iona

l pre

ssur

e,

Indo

nesi

a ga

ve u

p co

ntro

l of

Tim

or-L

este

in S

epte

mbe

r 199

9 an

d th

e te

rrito

ry w

as a

dmin

iste

red

tem

pora

rily

by th

e U

nite

d N

atio

ns

(UN

), w

ith th

e ob

ject

ive

of p

repa

ring

Tim

or-L

este

for i

ndep

ende

nce.

In it

s ro

le a

s th

e go

vern

ing

auth

ority

, the

U

N a

dmin

istr

atio

n cr

eate

d a

‘hyb

rid’

trib

unal

cal

led

the

Spec

ial P

anel

s fo

r Se

rious

Crim

es (S

PSC)

.

Wha

t cri

mes

do

the

spec

ial p

anel

s de

al w

ith?

The

SPSC

wer

e se

t up

to h

ear c

ases

of

geno

cide

, crim

es a

gain

st h

uman

ity,

war

crim

es a

nd c

erta

in c

rimes

und

er

natio

nal l

aw c

omm

itted

in re

latio

n to

the

even

ts in

Tim

or-L

este

from

Ja

nuar

y to

Oct

ober

199

9.

Who

are

the

judg

es?

The

SPSC

con

sist

of t

wo

inte

rnat

iona

l ju

dges

and

one

judg

e fr

om T

imor

-Le

ste.

Judg

es w

ere

initi

ally

sel

ecte

d fo

r ter

ms

of tw

o to

thre

e ye

ars

and

late

r for

life

.

Whe

re a

re th

e sp

ecia

l pan

els

loca

ted?

In D

ili, T

imor

-Les

te.

Que

stio

ns:

> H

ow d

oes

this

cou

rt c

ombi

ne n

atio

nal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal e

lem

ents

?>

Why

mig

ht d

efen

dant

s be

sus

pici

ous

of a

nat

iona

l cou

rt? W

hy

mig

ht v

icti

ms?

> W

hy m

ight

vic

tim

s m

istr

ust a

n in

tern

atio

nal c

ourt

? Why

mig

ht

defe

ndan

ts?

How

do

they

wor

k w

ith

nati

onal

co

urts

?Th

e SP

SC h

ave

prim

acy

over

the

natio

nal c

ourt

s of

Tim

or-L

este

.

Lirio Da Fonseca AS/CP/Reuters

s.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

Coop

erat

ion

betw

een

Stat

es a

nd

ad h

oc in

tern

atio

nal t

ribu

nals

Whi

le S

tate

s ar

e ob

liged

to b

ring

to

tria

l and

pun

ish

thos

e w

ho c

omm

it gr

ave

brea

ches

of i

nter

natio

nal

hum

anita

rian

law

(IH

L), t

he a

d ho

c in

tern

atio

nal t

ribun

als

have

prim

acy

over

Sta

tes’

actio

ns.

Ad h

oc in

tern

atio

nal c

rimin

al tr

ibun

als

can

refe

r cas

es to

the

Stat

e w

here

the

crim

e w

as c

omm

itted

, to

the

Stat

e w

here

the

accu

sed

was

arr

este

d, o

r to

any

oth

er S

tate

that

is w

illin

g an

d ab

le to

take

on

such

cas

es. W

ar c

rimes

tr

ials

have

thus

bee

n he

ld in

Cro

atia

, Bo

snia

and

Her

zego

vina

, Ser

bia

and

the

Net

herla

nds.

In re

spon

se

to th

e de

adlin

e es

tabl

ished

by

the

Uni

ted

Nat

ions

Sec

urity

Cou

ncil

for

com

plet

ing

the

trib

unal

s’ w

ork

by

2010

, the

trib

unal

s are

refe

rrin

g ca

ses

to n

atio

nal c

ourt

s with

incr

easin

g fre

quen

cy. B

osni

a an

d H

erze

govi

na

even

set u

p a

spec

ial W

ar C

rimes

Ch

ambe

r to

cope

with

the

volu

me

ofcas

esth

athav

eto

betried;th

e

natio

nal c

ourt

s res

pons

ible

for t

ryin

g w

ar c

rimin

als w

ere

rein

forc

ed in

Cr

oatia

and

Ser

bia

as w

ell.

Stat

es a

re a

lso re

quire

d to

coo

pera

te

with

ad

hoc

inte

rnat

iona

l trib

unal

s in

the

inve

stig

atio

n an

d pr

osec

utio

n of

per

sons

acc

used

of c

omm

ittin

g

serio

us v

iola

tions

of I

HL.

Thi

s mea

ns

that

Sta

tes m

ust a

rres

t, de

tain

, su

rren

der o

r tra

nsfe

r suc

h pe

rson

s, an

d as

sist t

he tr

ibun

als i

n ot

her w

ays

too,

whe

neve

r suc

h as

sista

nce

is

requ

este

d. M

any

Stat

es –

Bel

gium

, Be

nin,

Bur

kina

Fas

o, C

amer

oon,

Côt

e

d’Iv

oire

, Ken

ya, M

ali, N

amib

ia, S

outh

Af

rica,

Sw

itzer

land

, Tog

o an

d Za

mbi

a –

have

arr

este

d su

ch p

erso

ns a

nd

tran

sfer

red

them

to th

e In

tern

atio

nal

Crim

inal

Trib

unal

for R

wan

da (I

CTR)

.


how

can

nat

iona

l cou

rts

help

ad

hoc

inte

rnat

iona

l cr

imin

al t

ribun

als?

Amel Emric/AP

s.4B


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

Gacaca*

cou

rts

in R

wan

da

– a

trad

itio

nal m

eans

of

adm

inis

teri

ng ju

stic

eAs

the

num

ber o

f det

aine

d su

spec

ts

in R

wan

da c

ontin

ued

to g

row

, the

ov

ercr

owde

d pr

isons

resu

lted

in

awfu

l con

ditio

ns a

nd m

any

deat

hs.

In a

dditi

on, it

was

est

imat

ed th

at

Rwan

dan

natio

nal c

ourt

s and

the

ICTR

w

ould

nee

d at

leas

t 100

-150

yea

rs

to tr

y al

l the

cas

es th

at a

wai

ted

thei

r at

tent

ion.

To sp

eed

up th

e pr

oces

s, in

200

2 th

e Rw

anda

n go

vern

men

t de

cide

d to

revi

ve a

trad

ition

al

Rwan

dan

syst

em o

f jus

tice,

kno

wn

loca

lly a

s gac

aca.

The

gaca

ca w

as th

e m

ain

syst

em

of ju

stic

e in

Rw

anda

bef

ore

the

colo

niza

tion

of th

e co

untr

y. Its

goa

l w

as re

conc

iliat

ion

and

com

mun

ity

heal

ing

with

out p

unish

men

t. W

hile

the

revi

ved

gaca

ca co

urts

cont

inue

d to

pu

rsue

trut

h, ju

stic

e an

d re

conc

iliat

ion,

th

ey a

lso b

egan

to h

old

offen

ders

ac

coun

tabl

e fo

r the

ir ac

tions

.

Judg

es in

the

gaca

ca c

ourt

s ar

e re

spec

ted

mem

bers

of t

he

com

mun

ity w

ho a

re e

lect

ed to

thei

r po

sts

loca

lly. T

hese

‘peo

ple’

s ju

dges

’ ar

e tr

aine

d be

fore

they

take

up

thei

r ne

w re

spon

sibi

litie

s.

The

wor

k of

the

gaca

ca c

ourt

s, w

hile

co

mpa

rabl

e to

that

of t

he n

atio

nal

cour

ts, h

as o

ne m

ajor

lim

itatio

n:

gaca

ca c

ourt

s may

not

try

the

mos

t se

rious

crim

es;tho

secas

esre

main

the

resp

onsi

bilit

y of

the

form

al

netw

ork

of n

atio

nal c

ourt

s.

By 2

005,

12,

000

gaca

ca co

urts

had

be

en e

stab

lishe

d th

roug

hout

Rw

anda

.

* G

acac

a is

a K

inya

rwan

dan

wor

d th

at m

eans

‘ju

stic

e on

the

gras

s’ an

d re

fers

to th

e st

rip o

f gr

ass w

here

peo

ple

gath

ered

to re

solv

e co

nflic

ts

thro

ugh

info

rmal

com

mun

ity tr

ibun

als.


how

can

nat

iona

l cou

rts

help

ad

hoc

inte

rnat

iona

l cr

imin

al t

ribun

als?

Que

stio

ns:

> H

ow d

o yo

u th

ink

the

wor

k of

cou

rts

at n

atio

nal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal l

evel

s co

mpl

emen

t eac

h ot

her?

> W

hat a

re th

e el

emen

ts th

at g

ive

the ga

caca

cou

rts

thei

r dis

tinc

tive

cha

ract

er?

s.4B

AP

Exploring Humanitarian LawExPLORATION 4C: NON-JUDICIAL OPTIONS EHL 42

Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

sExploration 4A introduced students to the reasons for dealing with violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), and to different ways of doing so. Explorations 4B and 4C look more closely at specific mechanisms for addressing serious violations of IHL.

In Exploration 4B, students explored instances in which people accused of war crimes were brought to trial.

Exploration 4C looks at some non-judicial ways of dealing with violations of IHL. Students are introduced to options such as reconciliation, forgiveness and reparation. They learn that bringing perpetrators of war crimes to trial is not the only way to address IHL violations and to leave the legacy of armed conflict behind.

OBJECTIVES• tounderstandcertainnon-judicialapproachesthatStateshavechosentodealwithIHLviolations• toconsiderthemanyperspectivesinvolved–ofvictimsandperpetratorsandofthewidersociety–ineffortstobuildapeacefulfutureintheaftermathofIHLviolationsandhumanrightsabuses

• tounderstandsomeoftheadvantagesandlimitationsofnon-judicialapproaches

4C TEACHER

RESOURCES

4C.1 Non-judicialoptions

STUDENT4C RESOURCES

4C.2 Worksheet:Addressingtheneedsofvictimsandofthecommunity

4C.3 Worksheet:Howdotruthcommissionswork?

4C.4 Alookattruthcommissions4C.5 Testimoniesfromtruthcommissions4C.6 Voicesontheadvantagesandlimitations

oftruthcommissions4C.7 Apologyandforgiveness

PREPARATION

Select the truth commission (from “Testimonies from truth commissions”) that you will use with your students for the ‘perspectives’ exercise in steps 3 and 4. Decide how to divide students into the five ‘perspective’ groups.

In the Methodology Guide, review teaching methods 1 (Discussion), 2 (Brainstorming), 5 (Role-playing), 7 (Writing and reflecting), 9 (Small groups) and 10 (Gathering stories and news).

TIME

Two 45-minute sessions

4CExploration 4C: Non-judicial options

43Exploring Humanitarian LawExPLORATION 4C: NON-JUDICIAL OPTIONS EHL

Mod

ule

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s

4C1. INTRODUCE THE FOCUS ON NON-JUDICIAL WAYS (15 minutes)At the end of Exploration 4A, students brainstormed about what else could be done to deal with violations of IHL apart from bringing alleged perpetrators to trial. Take up those ideas again and initiate a discussion.

Use those earlier suggestions that students made in order to introduce terms that people around the world have been using: ‘amnesty,’ ‘apology,’ ‘forgiveness,’ ‘reparations,’ ‘truth commission,’ ‘truth and reconciliation commission.’ Ask students to reflect on the meaning of these six terms.

Distribute the worksheet “Addressing the needs of victims and of the community.” 4C.1

TEACHER RESOURCES

STUDENT4C.2 RESOURCES

Ask students to take notes on it as they brainstorm and discuss ideas for dealing with the aftermath of violence. As students offer suggestions, help them group their ideas

under the appropriate categories on the worksheet.

Ask students to link the examples they give to their own experiences.

Possible question:

> If a victim remains traumatized and continues to suffer long after a violent event, how might he or she be helped?

[If needed, draw students’ attention to some non-judicial options, such as the return of property, monetary compensation, public apology, psychological or medical services, creation of memorials, removal of officials from office or professionals from their jobs, community reconciliation events, revision of history books]

2. WHAT ARE TRUTH COMMISSIONS? (15 minutes)

Ask students what they know about truth commissions. Then distribute the worksheet “How do truth commissions work?”. Together, read the quotation it contains. Ask for reactions.


Possible question:

> What does this statement suggest about the way truth commissions work?

Instruct students, working in pairs, to write down their ideas about truth commissions on the worksheet.

Reconvene the class. Introduce “A look at truth commissions,” and ask students to compare their ideas with the way truth commissions work in reality.


The exploration


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4C3. PERSPECTIVES TO CONSIDER (25 minutes)Tell students that they will look at the work of one truth commission, drawing upon the facts of a particular case.

Distribute copies of the section of “Testimonies from truth commissions” (Timor-Leste, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Argentina or Peru) that you have decided to work on.


Explain that the work of truth commissions involves the following perspectives:

• Perpetrators present their stories to the truth commission, telling or explaining what crimes they committed during a situation of violence.

• Victims present their stories to the truth commission, telling or explaining what happened to them during a situation of violence.

• Witnesses present their stories to the truth commission, telling or explaining what they observed during a situation of violence.

• Commissioners hear testimonies and make recommendations about what should be done.

• Members of the public react to the information that becomes public and to the commission’s recommendations.

Divide the class into five groups, assigning one of the roles listed above to each.

Instruct each group to discuss the testimony from the perspective they have been assigned and then prepare their responses to the following questions:

> What thoughts and feelings do you think this testimony might evoke?> What outcomes do you hope for?

Advise students to draw on their worksheets from steps 1 and 2, when they are preparing their responses to the second question.

After about 10 minutes, have each group report its responses to the first question. List their responses by perspective, and display the list where it can be seen by everyone.

Possible question:

> What similarities and differences do you see in your responses?

4. EXPLORE POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS (20 minutes)Now have each group present its list of hoped-for outcomes, in response to the second question in step 3.

Again, lead a discussion on the similarities and differences in the responses.

Then have the class select two or three measures to promote healing and a peaceful future for the whole society.

Conclude by asking students to respond in writing to the following question:

> How did the perspective you took influence your interpretation of events and your choice of outcome?

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4C5. THE VALUE OF TRUTH COMMISSIONS (10 minutes)

Distribute “Voices on the advantages and limitations of truth commissions.” Have students work in pairs to discuss the value of truth commissions, using the quotations as well as their own ideas.


Have each pair draw two columns on a sheet of paper and list the advantages and the limitations of truth commissions.

After a few minutes, reconvene the class and have students present their views.

6. CLOSE (5 minutes)Stress that judicial and non-judicial ways of dealing with violations of IHL should complement each other.

Possible question:

> How do you think the work done by courts and other ways of dealing with violations complement each other?

Point out that both judicial and non-judicial options play a part in dealing with the past and in preventing atrocities in the future.

! KEY IDEAS

• Therearevariousnon-judicialwaystodealwithIHLviolationsthatmaybeused in addition to bringing alleged war criminals to trial.

• Manydifferentperspectivesmustbeconsideredtohelpsocietiesmovebeyond the atrocities in their past.

• Truthcommissionsareusefulinstrumentsforuncoveringthetruthandforproviding guidance on ways to deal with IHL violations.

The exploration


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sAPOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS

Read “Apology and forgiveness,” and respond to Hauss’ opinion in one of the three ways suggested.


A TORTURER CONFRONTS HIS MISDEEDSRead the following excerpt:

At a hearing of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, policeman Jeffrey Benzien demonstrated the ‘wet bag’ torture, which involved sitting on a prisoner’s back, stuffing his head into a wet bag and suffocating him nearly to death. A former detainee, Tony Yengeni, confronted Benzien and demanded, ‘What kind of man can do that kind of thing?’ Benzien had no good answer.

‘I (...) have asked myself that question to such an extent that I voluntarily (...) approached psychiatrists to have myself evaluated to find out what type of person I am,’ Benzien replied.

> How do the victim and the perpetrator benefit from having an opportunity to talk to each other?

Contrast this with the words of the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who spent almost 10 years in a detention camp under harsh conditions:

If our tormentors had been in our shoes they would have behaved as we did. If we had been in their shoes, we would have been able to become as them.

4cExtension activities


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s

TEACHERRESOURCE (1/2)4C.1

T.4cTo complement judicial ways of dealing with violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights abuses, various other mechanisms have emerged around the world. These approaches shift the focus from the perpetrator to the victim and may have reparative, truth-seeking and reconciliatory functions.

REPARATIVE FUNCTIONSThere have been a number of examples of efforts to compensate victims of IHL and human rights abuses for their losses and to repair the injury that was done to them.

• AftertheconflictsinBosniaandHerzegovinaandKosovo, for example, commissions were established to resolve land disputes and to ensure that all wrongfully confiscated property was restored to its rightful owners (restitution).

• Germanyhasoptedtoprovidefinancialcompensationforsurvivors of the Nazi concentration camps and for families of those who perished in the camps (compensation).

• InChile,thegovernmenthasprovidedmonthlycheques to family members of those who ‘disappeared’ or were killed under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet (compensation).

• TheUnitedNations(UN)setupaclaimscommissionto compensate those who suffered as a result of Iraq’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990-1991 (compensation).

Issuing public apologies is another way of attempting to make amends. In 1970, for example, Willy Brandt, the Chancellor of West Germany, sent a powerful message by falling on his knees in Warsaw, Poland, before the monument to the Warsaw ghetto uprising of 1943. Thirty-five years later, Gerhard Schroeder, the German Chancellor, expressed remorse and shame over the Holocaust to survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. In 1999, Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the UN, apologized for his organization’s failure to protect the people of the former Yugoslavia and of Rwanda (satisfaction).

A number of former Soviet-bloc countries – Albania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia – have found yet another way to deal with past atrocities. Although they have refrained from bringing alleged perpetrators to trial, they have passed laws disqualifying and removing from office former Communist officials and collaborators (lustration).

States have also decided to construct memorials and museums, open up their archives or revise history books in order to face the past squarely (satisfaction).

TRUTH-SEEKING FUNCTIONSSetting up truth commissions is another option that has been pursued in a number of contexts. Truth commissions play an important role: they investigate violations of IHL and human rights abuses to establish their causes, to help societies come to terms with the past and to prevent atrocities from happening again.

Truth commissions hear the testimony of victims, witnesses and perpetrators of IHL violations and human rights abuses. However,truthcommissionsarenottrials;theyareonlyforums of inquiry to determine the facts of past atrocities.

They are usually established by governments, although some have been set up by private organizations. They publish reports and make recommendations on how governments should deal with atrocities. In order to facilitate peace and community healing, they might propose different judicial and non-judicial approaches to deal with IHL violations.

Truth commissions have been created in a variety of circumstances: after a change in government, as part of a peace agreement, after a civil war or during a period of transition from military to civilian rule. They have been set up in a number of countries, including Argentina, Chad, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nigeria, Panama and Uganda.

Argentina established the first truth commission (the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons) in 1983 to investigate and uncover the truth about the disappearance of thousands of people under the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983. After gathering more than 50,000 pages of evidence, the commission published its 1984 report, Nunca Más (Never Again), which documented the existence of 340 secret detention camps and the ‘disappearance’ of more than 8,900 individuals. The report revealed that victims were detained under inhumane conditions and subjected to humiliating and degrading treatment.

The commission’s recommendations were to begin judicial investigations, to provide reparations to the victims and their families and to ensure that such violations of human rights never occur again.

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T.4cTEACHERRESOURCE (2/2)4C.1

Non-judicial options

RECONCILIATORY FUNCTIONSIn many instances, truth commissions have also sought to reconcile perpetrators with victims and their families. Truth and reconciliation commissions have been created in Chile, Timor-Leste, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa and South Korea.

South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 1995 to investigate and document serious human rights violations committed between 1960 and 1994 under the apartheid regime. The commission investigated crimes committed by members of the South African apartheid government as well as those committed by resistance groups such as the African National Congress. Its goal was to achieve personal and political reconciliation rather than to prosecute and punish.

Under the commission’s ‘amnesty for truth’ policy, individual perpetrators were not brought to trial for politically motivated crimes if they confessed their misdeeds truthfully. Those who did not reveal all the details of their politically motivated crimes or whose crimes were motivated by personal reasons were not eligible for amnesty and were prosecuted under national law.

Testimony was taken from more than 23,000 victims and witnesses. Out of more than 7,000 applications for amnesty, the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission granted amnesty to 849 people.

In 2002, the UN transitional administration in Timor-Leste established the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation to investigate human rights violations committed between 1974 and 1999, a period during which Timor-Leste was under Indonesian authority. The aims of the truth commission were to facilitate reconciliation and the re-integration of minor criminal offenders who submitted confessions and to recommend measures for preventing future abuses and for addressing the needs of victims.

The truth commission’s report, which was released in 2005, was based on the testimony of more than 7,000 victims. The commission found that the deaths of nearly 103,000 Timorese people – by starvation and torture, for instance – were linked to the 24-year Indonesian rule.

The commission made recommendations for judicial proceedings against the perpetrators, initiated national reparation programs, helped with the process of reconciliation and suggested measures to the government for the prevention of further abuses.

In Sierra Leone, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission started its work in 2002 to create a historical record of the IHL violations and human rights abuses that occurred during the armed conflict in the country between 1991 and 1999. The commission also aimed to respond to the needs of victims, to promote healing and reconciliation, and to prevent further abuses.

The 5,000-page report, released in 2004, is based on the statements of 7,000 people. The report also contained a separate version for children, since children had played such a large role, both as victims and as perpetrators of violence, during the war. It revealed a wide range of serious violations of IHL and of human rights abuses and offered a number of recommendations for legal, political and administrative reform, with a special focus on strengthened protection for children and women.

A number of non-judicial solutions for addressing violations of IHL have emerged at different times and from different contexts. One feature common to them is the desire of many societies to find their way back to peace and to leave their legacy of armed conflict behind. By choosing non-judicial options to deal with IHL violations, States decide to acknowledge and analyse atrocities and to focus on victims’ losses rather than on punishing perpetrators. The aim is to understand and learn from the past, in order to prevent atrocities in the future.

Sources: David Bloomfield, Teresa Barnes (eds), Reconciliation After Violent Conflict: A Handbook, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Stockholm, 2003. Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, “Reparation for violations of international humanitarian law,” International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 85, No. 851, September 2003. Pierre Hazan, “Measuring the impact of punishment and forgiveness: a framework for evaluating transitional justice,” International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 88, No. 861, March 2006. Laura Olson, “Mechanisms complementing prosecution,” International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 84, No. 845, March 2002. Elizabeth G. Salmón, “Reflections on international humanitarian law and transitional justice: lessons to be learnt from the Latin American experience,” International Review of the Red Cross, Vol. 88, No. 862, June 2006.


Mod

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4: D

ealin

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ith

vio

lati

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s

STUDENTRESOURCE4C.2

Add

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need

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Mod

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STUDENTRESOURCE4C.3

how

do

trut

h co

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Wha

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m th

e Tr

uth

and

Reco

ncili

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mm

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n Re

port

: For

the

Child

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ra L

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Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

Trut

h co

mm

issi

ons

hear

the

test

imon

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vic

tims

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tern

atio

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hum

anita

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law

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L) v

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mm

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may

als

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ek to

re

conc

ile v

ictim

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d pe

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They

are

usu

ally

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som

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h co

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ish

repo

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and

mak

e re

com

men

datio

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n ho

w g

over

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atro

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faci

litat

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com

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ight

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STUDENTRESOURCE4C.4

A lo

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t tru

th c

omm

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ons

s.4c


Mod

ule

4: D

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g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE (1/5)4C.5

Test

imon

ies

from

trut

h co

mm

issi

ons

TIM

OR-

LEST

E

In 1

975,

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nesi

a in

vade

d Ti

mor

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ste

(the

n a

Port

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imor

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rope

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uth

com

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est

ablis

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in 2

002

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man

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atio

ns c

omm

itted

in

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or-L

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wee

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74 a

nd 1

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rato

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of le

ss s

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r co

mm

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es a

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mm

end

to

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rnm

ent m

easu

res

to p

reve

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furt

her a

buse

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n th

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done

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troo

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me

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ur h

ouse

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sh

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y br

othe

rs R

aul a

nd K

aim

auk

in

front

of m

e. (.

..) T

he re

siden

ts o

f Qui

ntal

Bo

ot h

ad a

ll fle

d to

the

hills

. My

cous

in

and

I cho

se to

stay

in th

e ho

use.

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as

the

situa

tion

beca

me

mor

e ch

aotic

bo

th o

f us fl

ed to

Tere

iro, a

nd th

en [w

e]

mov

ed a

gain

to th

e La

hane

Hos

pita

l. W

e st

ayed

in La

hane

for t

wo

days

. We

wer

e ve

ry h

ungr

y be

caus

e w

e di

d no

t ha

ve a

nyth

ing

to e

at. (

...) T

he re

st o

f my

fam

ily w

as sc

atte

red.

(...)

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ow

whe

re th

ey ra

n to

. –

Test

imon

y of

Ben

vind

a Lo

pez

From

the

pers

pect

ive

of y

our g

roup

(per

petr

ator

, vic

tim

, wit

ness

, co

mm

issi

oner

, mem

ber o

f the

pub

lic):

> W

hat t

houg

hts a

nd fe

elin

gs d

o yo

u th

ink

this

test

imon

y m

ight

evo

ke?

> W

hat o

utco

mes

do

you

hope

for?

Beawiharta/Reuters

s.4c


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


Test

imon

ies

from

trut

h co

mm

issi

ons

SIER

RA

LEO

NE

Sier

ra L

eone

suff

ered

thro

ugh

an

extr

emel

y vi

olen

t civ

il w

ar b

etw

een

1991

and

199

9, in

whi

ch a

rebe

l gr

oup

calle

d th

e Re

volu

tiona

ry

Uni

ted

Fron

t (RU

F) fo

ught

the

gove

rnm

ent.

Cont

rol o

f the

cou

ntry

’s ric

h di

amon

d m

ines

was

one

of t

he

man

y is

sues

that

fuel

led

the

war

. Se

rious

vio

latio

ns o

f int

erna

tiona

l hu

man

itaria

n la

w (I

HL)

wer

e co

mm

itted

dur

ing

the

war

. Abo

ut

100,

000

peop

le w

ere

kille

d. C

hild

so

ldie

rs w

ere

wid

ely

used

. Sex

ual

viol

ence

and

the

cutt

ing

off o

f pe

ople

’s lim

bs w

ere

ofte

n th

e m

eans

us

ed to

terr

oriz

e ci

vilia

ns. M

ore

than

tw

o m

illio

n pe

ople

wer

e fo

rced

to

flee

from

thei

r hom

es.

A tr

uth

com

mis

sion

was

est

ablis

hed

in 2

000

to c

reat

e a

hist

oric

al re

cord

of

the

IHL

viol

atio

ns a

nd h

uman

rig

hts

abus

es th

at w

ere

com

mitt

ed

betw

een

1991

and

199

9, to

resp

ond

to th

e ne

eds

of v

ictim

s, to

pro

mot

e he

alin

g an

d re

conc

iliat

ion

and

to

prev

ent f

urth

er a

buse

s.

We w

ere d

rugg

ed a

nd m

ade t

o ki

ll and

de

stro

y our

bro

ther

s and

sist

ers a

nd o

ur

mot

hers

and

fath

ers.

We w

ere b

eate

n,

ampu

tate

d an

d us

ed a

s sex

slav

es. (

...)

Our

han

ds, w

hich

wer

e mea

nt to

be u

sed

freel

y for

pla

y and

scho

olw

ork,

wer

e use

d in

stea

d, b

y for

ce, t

o bu

rn, k

ill a

nd d

estro

y. –

from

the

Trut

h an

d Re

conc

iliat

ion

Com

mis

sion

Rep

ort:

For t

he C

hild

ren

of S

ierr

a Le

one

From

the

pers

pect

ive

of y

our g

roup

(per

petr

ator

, vic

tim

, wit

ness

, co

mm

issi

oner

, mem

ber o

f the

pub

lic):

> W

hat t

houg

hts a

nd fe

elin

gs d

o yo

u th

ink

this

test

imon

y m

ight

evo

ke?

> W

hat o

utco

mes

do

you

hope

for?

Brennan Linsley/AP

s.4c


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


Test

imon

ies

from

trut

h co

mm

issi

ons

SOU

TH A

FRIC

A

In S

outh

Afr

ica,

ser

ious

vio

latio

ns

of h

uman

righ

ts w

ere

com

mitt

ed

durin

g th

e st

rugg

le (1

948-

1994

) ag

ains

t apa

rthe

id. T

he S

outh

Afr

ican

ap

arth

eid

regi

me

rest

ricte

d w

here

no

n-w

hite

peo

ple

coul

d liv

e, w

hat

jobs

they

cou

ld h

old

and

wha

t typ

e of

edu

catio

n th

ey c

ould

rece

ive.

A tru

th co

mm

issio

n w

as e

stab

lishe

d in

19

95 to

inve

stig

ate

and

docu

men

t gro

ss

viol

atio

ns o

f hum

an ri

ghts

com

mitt

ed

betw

een

1960

and

199

4 an

d to

atte

mpt

to

brin

g ab

out r

econ

cilia

tion.

The

trut

h co

mm

issio

n off

ered

‘am

nest

y fo

r tru

th’

to th

ose

perp

etra

tors

who

wer

e w

illin

g to

conf

ess t

heir

crim

es.

Now

eve

ntua

lly I w

as ta

ken

out o

f the

ho

use

by th

e po

lice.

(...)

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y ha

d a

bato

n; im

med

iate

ly a

fter I

got

out

of t

he

hous

e, th

ey b

eat m

e up

with

the

bato

n al

l ove

r my

body

. I tr

ied

to ru

n. W

hile

I w

as st

ill ru

nnin

g, th

ey tr

ippe

d m

e an

d I

fell,

they

wer

e ki

ckin

g m

e, I t

ried

to co

ver

my

face

bec

ause

I did

n’t w

ant m

y fa

ce

at le

ast t

o be

inju

red

but t

hey

wer

e to

o m

any

for m

e, th

ey o

verp

ower

ed m

e.

...The

who

le a

gony

last

ed fo

r 30

min

utes

. As

a re

sult

of th

at I d

iscov

ered

that

I co

uldn

’t w

rite –

I cou

ldn’

t wor

k wel

l, and

I w

as a

lso a

ffect

ed m

enta

lly, m

y beh

avio

ur

tota

lly ch

ange

d af

ter t

hat.

(...) E

ven

at

scho

ol I e

ncou

nter

enor

mou

s pro

blem

s, m

y mem

ory i

s too

shor

t, th

at re

ally

affe

cts

me n

ow a

t sch

ool. (

...) I w

as 1

9 ye

ars o

ld.

– Te

stim

ony

of M

land

eli W

alte

r Mqi

kela

From

the

pers

pect

ive

of y

our g

roup

(per

petr

ator

, vic

tim

, wit

ness

, co

mm

issi

oner

, mem

ber o

f the

pub

lic):

> W

hat t

houg

hts a

nd fe

elin

gs d

o yo

u th

ink

this

test

imon

y m

ight

evo

ke?

> W

hat o

utco

mes

do

you

hope

for?

Mike Hutchings/AP

s.4c


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


Test

imon

ies

from

trut

h co

mm

issi

ons

ARG

ENTI

NA

From

197

6 un

til 1

983,

Arg

entin

a w

as ru

led

by a

suc

cess

ion

of m

ilita

ry

regi

mes

. Dur

ing

that

per

iod,

peo

ple

who

wer

e su

spec

ted

of o

ppos

ing

the

gove

rnm

ent w

ere

delib

erat

ely

kille

d or

tort

ured

. It h

as b

een

estim

ated

th

at b

etw

een

10,0

00 a

nd 3

0,00

0 pe

ople

‘dis

appe

ared

.’

A tr

uth

com

mis

sion

was

est

ablis

hed

in 1

983

to in

vest

igat

e an

d to

un

cove

r the

trut

h ab

out t

he c

rimes

co

mm

itted

und

er th

e va

rious

mili

tary

re

gim

es. T

he c

omm

issi

on’s

task

was

to

pro

vide

an

unbi

ased

acc

ount

of

the

even

ts a

nd to

pas

s on

to th

e co

urt s

yste

m th

e cr

imin

al c

ases

that

it

had

iden

tified

.

Betw

een

11 a

nd 1

1.30

p.m

(...)

1 h

eard

a

loud

kno

ckin

g at

the

door

of m

y ho

me

in B

elgr

ano,

Bue

nos A

ires c

ity. I

was

just

fin

ishi

ng b

reas

t-fe

edin

g m

y so

n, S

imón

. Th

e do

or w

as b

roke

n do

wn,

and

be

twee

n te

n an

d fif

teen

men

dre

ssed

in

eve

ryda

y cl

othe

s bur

st in

. The

y id

entifi

ed th

emse

lves

as m

embe

rs o

f th

e Ar

gent

ine

and

Uru

guay

an a

rmie

s. O

ne o

f the

offi

cers

said

his

nam

e w

as

Maj

or G

avaz

zo, o

f the

Uru

guay

an

arm

y. T

hey

foun

d w

ritte

n m

ater

ial

whi

ch sh

owed

I was

wor

king

for t

he

caus

e of

free

dom

in U

rugu

ay; t

hey

then

be

gan

to to

rtur

e an

d in

terr

ogat

e m

e.

Whe

n th

ey to

ok m

e aw

ay, I

ask

ed w

hat

wou

ld h

appe

n to

the

boy.

The

y to

ld m

e no

t to

wor

ry, t

hat h

e w

ould

stay

with

th

em, t

hat t

hey

had

no w

ar a

gain

st

child

ren.

Tha

t was

the

last

tim

e I s

aw

Sim

ón o

r hav

e ha

d an

y ne

ws o

f him

.–

Test

imon

y of

the

mot

her o

f Sim

ón

Ant

onio

Riq

uelo

From

the

pers

pect

ive

of y

our g

roup

(per

petr

ator

, vic

tim

, wit

ness

, co

mm

issi

oner

, mem

ber o

f the

pub

lic):

> W

hat t

houg

hts a

nd fe

elin

gs d

o yo

u th

ink

this

test

imon

y m

ight

evo

ke?

> W

hat o

utco

mes

do

you

hope

for?

Daniel Garcia/AFP/Getty Images

s.4c


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s


Test

imon

ies

from

trut

h co

mm

issi

ons

PERU

From

198

0 to

200

0, P

eru

suffe

red

thro

ugh

a vi

olen

t civ

il w

ar b

etw

een

gove

rnm

ent f

orce

s an

d tw

o m

ain

guer

rilla

gro

ups:

the

Send

ero

Lum

inos

o (S

hini

ng P

ath)

and

th

e Tu

pac

Am

aru

Revo

lutio

nary

M

ovem

ent (

MRT

A).

In th

ose

twen

ty

year

s, th

ose

invo

lved

in th

e fig

htin

g w

ere

resp

onsi

ble

for w

ides

prea

d an

d sy

stem

atic

kill

ings

, bru

tal p

hysi

cal

assa

ults

, for

ced

disa

ppea

ranc

es

on a

mas

sive

sca

le, e

xtra

-judi

cial

ex

ecut

ions

, act

s of

tort

ure

and

othe

r un

law

ful f

orm

s of

ill-t

reat

men

t.A

trut

h co

mm

issi

on w

as s

et u

p in

20

01 w

ith a

man

date

to e

stab

lish

the

circ

umst

ance

s su

rrou

ndin

g th

e hu

man

righ

ts a

buse

s an

d vi

olat

ions

co

mm

itted

bet

wee

n 19

80 a

nd 2

000.

I ask

ed th

em, ‘

Why

are

you

taki

ng m

y so

n aw

ay’ a

nd th

ey sa

id th

at h

e ha

d to

be

a w

itnes

s and

that

they

wou

ld

give

him

bac

k to

me

at th

e do

or to

the

barr

acks

. (...

) Whe

n I c

augh

t up

with

th

em a

t the

doo

r, th

ey p

ushe

d m

e an

d be

at m

e. T

hey

wan

ted

to p

ut a

bul

let

in m

e, th

ey to

ok m

y so

n fro

m m

e an

d pu

t him

in th

e ar

my

truc

k an

d I s

tart

ed

shou

ting

like

a m

ad w

oman

. Sin

ce

that

day

I hav

e be

en g

oing

all

over

th

e pl

ace

day

and

nigh

t try

ing

to g

et

them

to re

turn

my

son

and

whe

n I w

ent

to se

e th

e ar

my,

they

told

me

that

he

hadn

’t be

en ta

ken

ther

e an

d so

I wal

ked

arou

nd fo

r ano

ther

fort

nigh

t lik

e a

mad

w

oman

. At t

hat p

oint

my

son

sent

me

a no

te fr

om th

e ba

rrac

ks sa

ying

, ‘Mot

her,

I am

her

e in

the

barr

acks

, find

a la

wye

r, ge

t hol

d of

som

e m

oney

to g

et m

e ou

t.’ Th

at is

my

last

mem

ory

of m

y so

n. T

hat

note

is e

vide

nce

that

my

son

was

ther

e...

– Te

stim

ony

of A

ngél

ica

Men

doza

From

the

pers

pect

ive

of y

our g

roup

(per

petr

ator

, vic

tim

, wit

ness

, co

mm

issi

oner

, mem

ber o

f the

pub

lic):

> W

hat t

houg

hts a

nd fe

elin

gs d

o yo

u th

ink

this

test

imon

y m

ight

evo

ke?

> W

hat o

utco

mes

do

you

hope

for?

Silvia Izquierdo/AP

Sour

ces:

Com

mis

sion

for R

ecep

tion,

Tru

th a

nd R

econ

cilia

tion

in T

imor

-Les

te (h

ttp:

//w

ww

.eas

ttim

or-r

econ

cilia

tion.

org)

. Che

ga! T

he C

AVR

Repo

rt (h

ttp:

//w

ww

.cav

r-tim

orle

ste.

org/

cheg

aRep

ort.h

tm).

The

Trut

h an

d Re

conc

iliat

ion

Com

miss

ion

Repo

rt: F

or th

e Ch

ildre

n of

Sie

rra Le

one

(htt

p://

ww

w.tr

csie

rral

eone

.org

/pdf

/kid

s.pdf

). Th

e Fi

nal R

epor

t of t

he Tr

uth

& Re

conc

iliat

ion

Com

miss

ion

of S

ierra

Leon

e (h

ttp:

//tr

csie

rral

eone

.org

/drw

ebsi

te/

publ

ish/

inde

x.sh

tml).

Sou

th A

fric

a: T

ruth

and

Rec

onci

liatio

n Co

mm

issi

on W

ebsi

te (h

ttp:

//w

ww

.doj

.gov

.za/

trc/

trc_

fram

eset

.htm

). Ar

gent

ina:

Nun

ca M

ás (N

ever

Aga

in) –

CO

NA

DEP

repo

rt –

198

4 (h

ttp:

//w

ww

.nun

cam

as.o

rg/

engl

ish/

libra

ry/n

evag

ain/

neva

gain

_001

.htm

).

s.4c

http://www.easttimor-reconciliation.org





http://www.cavr-timorleste.org/chegaReport.htm







http://www.trcsierraleone.org/pdf/kids.pdf







http://trcsierraleone.org/drwebsite/publish/index.shtml







http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/trc_frameset.htm









http://www.nuncamas.org/english/library/nevagain/nevagain_001.htm











Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE 4C.6

Que

stio

ns:

> D

o yo

u th

ink

peop

le

who

adm

it th

eir c

rim

es

and

apol

ogiz

e sh

ould

go

unpu

nish

ed?

> H

ow d

o yo

u th

ink

non-

judi

cial

way

s co

uld

supp

lem

ent j

udic

ial w

ays?

In th

e qu

otat

ions

that

follo

w,

peop

le w

ho h

ave

been

per

sona

lly

invo

lved

in d

eter

min

ing

appr

opri

ate

way

s of d

ealin

g w

ith

inte

rnat

iona

l hum

anit

aria

n la

w

(IHL)

vio

lati

ons a

nd h

uman

righ

ts

abus

es g

ive

thei

r vie

ws a

nd ra

ise

ques

tion

s abo

ut th

e va

lue

of n

on-

judi

cial

solu

tion

s.

We s

aid

we w

ant t

o lo

ok a

t our

pas

t, w

e did

n’t w

ant t

o pr

eten

d th

at it

had

n’t

happ

ened

. Let

us l

ook t

he b

east

in th

e ey

e the

n m

ove o

n. Fo

rgiv

enes

s is n

ot

som

ethi

ng n

ebul

ous,

it is

cruc

ial in

how

yo

u ge

t to

deal

with

the l

egac

y of t

he p

ast.

Its o

ppos

ite is

retri

butio

n an

d re

veng

e.–

Des

mon

d Tu

tu, N

obel

Pea

ce P

rize

win

ner a

nd C

hairm

an o

f the

Sou

th

Afr

ican

Tru

th a

nd R

econ

cilia

tion

Com

mis

sion

, 200

3

In o

rder

for a

soci

ety

to b

e m

ade

who

le

afte

rwar

d, it

has

to re

cogn

ize

wha

t ha

ppen

ed, r

epai

r the

vic

tims a

nd p

unish

th

ose

who

did

wro

ng. T

hat d

oesn

’t m

ean

you

have

to p

ut a

buse

rs in

jail,

but

at

the

very

leas

t the

y sh

ould

be

requ

ired

to co

nfes

s the

ir sin

s and

apo

logi

ze.

– M

artin

Abr

egu,

Dire

ctor

of t

he

Cent

re fo

r Leg

al a

nd S

ocia

l Stu

dies

, A

rgen

tina,

199

8

The

fact

that

, in

front

of t

he v

ictim

or

the

fam

ily o

f the

vic

tim, a

n ex

ecut

ione

r re

cogn

izes

that

he

delib

erat

ely

mur

dere

d so

meb

ody,

that

he

stor

ed a

bo

mb

in a

chu

rch

or so

mew

here

els

e w

ith th

e in

tent

to k

ill, i

t is a

beg

inni

ng

of ju

stic

e. (.

..) M

any

vict

ims a

re

satis

fied,

bec

ause

they

wer

e re

stor

ed

in th

eir d

igni

ty, a

nd th

eir s

uffer

ings

w

ere

reco

gniz

ed. O

ther

vic

tims a

re

diss

atis

fied

beca

use

they

find

that

the

mur

dere

rs g

et o

ff to

o lig

htly

.–

Rich

ard

Gol

dsto

ne, S

outh

Afr

ican

ju

dge,

form

er p

rose

cuto

r for

the

Inte

rnat

iona

l Crim

inal

Trib

unal

s for

the

form

er Y

ugos

lavi

a an

d Rw

anda

, 199

8

The

Rwan

dan

gove

rnm

ent w

as

conv

ince

d th

at th

e on

ly w

ay to

ach

ieve

na

tiona

l rec

onst

ruct

ion

and

brin

g la

stin

g pe

ace

to th

e pe

ople

of R

wan

da

was

to se

e to

it th

at ju

stic

e w

as d

one,

an

d th

at it

was

an

illus

ion

to h

ope

for

any

unde

rsta

ndin

g or

pea

cefu

l co-

exis

tenc

e un

less

the

peop

le w

ho w

ere

resp

onsi

ble

for a

nd in

volv

ed in

the

crim

es w

ere

first

pun

ishe

d.–

Faus

tin N

tezi

yayo

, Rw

anda

n M

inis

ter o

f Jus

tice,

199

8

Just

ice

is a

nec

essa

ry co

nditi

on, b

ut

it is

not

suffi

cien

t for

reco

ncili

atio

n.

(...)

[If] t

he co

nditi

ons t

hat l

ed to

the

confl

ict a

re n

ot c

hang

ed, t

hen

clea

rly

the

confl

ict c

ould

re-ig

nite

and

the

who

le p

ainf

ul p

roce

ss o

f inv

estig

atin

g th

e tr

uth

and

adm

inis

terin

g ju

stic

e w

ill

have

bee

n fo

r not

hing

, as t

he so

lutio

ns

foun

d w

ill n

ot re

solv

e th

e ba

sic

prob

lem

s tha

t lea

d to

vio

lenc

e.–

Salo

món

Ler

ner F

ebre

s, Pr

esid

ent,

Trut

h an

d Re

conc

iliat

ion

Com

mis

sion

, Per

u, 2

006

In th

e co

urse

of J

apan

ese

occu

patio

n,

the

Kore

an W

ar, a

nd a

utho

ritar

ian

rule

, m

any

inno

cent

peo

ple

suffe

red

from

un

just

and

inhu

man

e vi

olen

ce a

nd

mas

sacr

es. W

e fa

iled

to u

ncov

er th

e tr

uth

and

brin

g ab

out r

econ

cilia

tion.

On

the

cont

rary

, for

a lo

ng ti

me

the

vict

ims

have

bee

n fo

rced

into

sile

nce

by st

ate

agen

cies

, and

thei

r fam

ilies

hav

e be

en

left

in d

eep

angu

ish. (

...) W

e sh

all t

ry to

pr

even

t suc

h w

rong

s fro

m o

ccur

ring

agai

n in

the

futu

re, le

ave

the

prop

er

less

ons f

or th

e ge

nera

tions

to co

me,

and

pr

omot

e th

e va

lue

of ju

stic

e an

d hu

man

rig

hts i

n th

e in

tern

atio

nal c

omm

unity

.–

Song

Ki I

n, P

resi

dent

of t

he T

ruth

an

d Re

conc

iliat

ion

Com

mis

sion

, Re

publ

ic o

f Kor

ea, 2

006

voic

es o

n th

e ad

vant

ages

and

lim

itatio

ns o

f tru

th c

omm

issi

ons

s.4c


Mod

ule

4: D

ealin

g w

ith

vio

lati

on

s

STUDENTRESOURCE 4C.7

Aft

er s

ituat

ions

of v

iole

nce,

soc

ietie

s se

arch

for w

ays

to re

build

and

to

heal

the

phys

ical

and

psy

chol

ogic

al

dam

age

suffe

red

by in

divi

dual

s an

d th

e so

ciet

y as

a w

hole

. Pub

lic

apol

ogie

s by

gov

ernm

ent l

eade

rs

and

perp

etra

tors

, as

wel

l as

expr

essi

ons

of fo

rgiv

enes

s fr

om

vict

ims,

are

rega

rded

by

man

y as

be

ing

cons

truc

tive,

and

, the

refo

re,

impo

rtan

t in

heal

ing

the

wou

nds

of

dam

aged

soc

ietie

s.

The

follo

win

g ex

cerp

t is

take

n fr

om

the

writ

ings

of C

harle

s H

auss

, a

prof

esso

r of p

oliti

cal s

cien

ce a

nd

confl

ict r

esol

utio

n.

Apol

ogy

and

forg

iven

ess a

re tw

o si

des o

f the

sam

e em

otio

nal c

oin.

Th

ey re

flect

the

cons

truc

tive

way

s th

e op

pres

sors

and

the

oppr

esse

d in

co

nflic

t can

com

e to

grip

s with

the

pain

an

d su

fferin

g th

e co

nflic

t pro

duce

d.

The o

ppre

ssor

s who

com

mitt

ed h

uman

rig

hts v

iola

tions

and

oth

er a

troci

ties h

ave

to ta

ke re

spon

sibili

ty fo

r the

ir ac

tions

and

ap

olog

ize. A

n ap

olog

y has

to b

e hea

rtfe

lt an

d re

flect

true

rem

orse

for p

ast a

ctio

ns.

An a

polo

gy ca

n st

ill m

atte

r if i

t is m

ade

by so

meo

ne w

ho is

seve

ral g

ener

atio

ns

rem

oved

from

the a

buse

s.

By th

e sa

me

toke

n, th

e vi

ctim

s of

thos

e at

roci

ties h

ave

to fi

nd th

e sp

ace

in th

eir h

eart

s to

forg

ive

thos

e w

ho

vict

imiz

ed th

em, e

ven

thou

gh th

e pa

in

and

suffe

ring

will

nev

er d

isap

pear

. Bu

t for

givi

ng is

just

as i

mpo

rtan

t as

apol

ogiz

ing

in a

ny so

ciet

y w

hich

w

ishe

s to

put i

ts st

rugg

les b

ehin

d it

and

crea

te a

mor

e pe

acef

ul a

nd

coop

erat

ive

futu

re.

Even

afte

r the

figh

ting

stop

s, pe

ople

st

ill fe

el th

e pa

in, h

urt,

ange

r, fe

ar, a

nd

hatr

ed th

at p

rodu

ced

the

confl

ict a

nd

its h

orro

rs in

the

first

pla

ce. W

ithou

t ap

olog

y an

d fo

rgiv

enes

s, pe

ople

re

mai

n lo

cked

in th

e va

lue

syst

ems t

hat

prod

uced

the

confl

ict.

Litt

le p

rogr

ess

beyo

nd a

ceas

efire

can

be m

ade.

Resp

ond

to th

e op

inio

ns o

f the

aut

hor b

y pr

esen

ting

you

r ow

n th

ough

ts a

nd fe

elin

gs. C

hoos

e on

e of

thes

e w

ays

for y

our r

espo

nse:

•Writeanessayex

plaining

you

rviewsab

outthe

issu

esra

ised

in

Hau

ss’ w

riti

ng.

•Writeastoryabo

utyou

ors

omeo

neyou

kno

win

which

apo

logizing

an

d fo

rgiv

ing

wer

e in

stru

men

tal i

n ea

sing

a p

ainf

ul s

itua

tion

, or i

n w

hich

the

act o

f apo

logi

zing

had

no

impa

ct o

n th

e si

tuat

ion.

•Prep

areash

ortd

ramatizationwithaclassm

ateinwhich

a

conf

ront

atio

n ov

er a

n ev

ent i

n th

e pa

st re

sult

s in

an

apol

ogy

on o

ne

side

and

forg

iven

ess

on th

e ot

her.

Pres

ent t

he d

ram

atiz

atio

n to

the

clas

s. T

hen

disc

uss

your

reac

tion

s to

it, a

nd a

sk th

e cl

ass

for t

heir

s.

Sour

ce: C

harle

s H

auss

, “A

polo

gy a

nd F

orgi

vene

ss,”

in G

uy B

urge

ss, H

eidi

Bur

gess

(eds

), Be

yond

In

trac

tabi

lity,

Con

flict

Res

earc

h Co

nsor

tium

, U

nive

rsity

of C

olor

ado,

Bou

lder

CO

, Sep

tem

ber

2003

(htt

p://

ww

w.b

eyon

dint

ract

abili

ty.o

rg/e

ssay

/ap

olog

y_fo

rgiv

enes

s/).

Apo

logy

and

forg

iven

ess

s.4c

http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/apology_forgiveness/







59EHL

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ule

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ith

vio

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s


Media page4

OBJ

ECTI

VE

• to

bec

ome

awar

e of

effo

rts

bein

g m

ade

to d

eal w

ith v

iola

tions

of i

nter

natio

nal

hum

anita

rian

law

(IH

L) a

t hom

e an

d ar

ound

the

wor

ld

1. S

elec

t an

artic

le fr

om a

new

spap

er o

r mag

azin

e or

a s

peci

al re

port

on

tele

visi

on o

r rad

io

abou

t effo

rts

to a

ddre

ss IH

L vi

olat

ions

.

[For

exa

mpl

e: th

roug

h na

tiona

l cou

rts,

mili

tary

trib

unal

s, in

tern

atio

nal t

ribun

als,

truth

com

miss

ions

]

2. D

escr

ibe

the

situ

atio

n.

>

Wha

t act

ions

are

bei

ng ta

ken?

By

who

m?

>

Wha

t vio

latio

ns a

re a

t iss

ue?

>

Wha

t is

the

curr

ent s

tatu

s of

the

case

?

> W

hat d

o yo

u th

ink

will

hap

pen

next

and

why

?

3. C

ontin

ue to

follo

w a

nd re

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on

the

case

you

sel

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d.

EHL 60

Mod

ule

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4METHODS OF ASSESSMENT

ONGOING ASSESSMENT

Exploring Humanitarian Law (EHL) provides teachers with daily opportunities to find out what their students are learning and what misconceptions they might have. Active teaching methods, such as class discussion, small group work, brainstorming and role-playing all provide such opportunities.

Take five minutes at the end of class to have students write down one- or two-sentence answers to the following questions:

> What did you learn today?> What remaining questions do you have?

Read through their responses, and use them to build on students’ knowledge and clarify any misconceptions for the next lesson.

PORTFOLIO OF STudENT WORK

In each module, students are asked to carry out activities such as interviewing people, illustrating concepts with poems, plays or artwork and writing research papers on particular topics.

Keep a folder or portfolio for each student, containing written work, artwork, interviews and news clippings that he or she has contributed in class. Periodically go over the student’s work with him or her to monitor progress in understanding international humanitarian law (IHL).

Post samples of students’ work where all can see.

ENd-OF-MOduLE QuESTIONS

After Module 4 is completed, you might want to devote the last class session to a written assessment of what students have learned. You could do this with one essay question (20-30 minutes) and two or three short-answer questions (10 minutes each).

Possible essay questions:

> What are some of the difficulties faced in implementing IHL? Give concrete examples.> Describe the main judicial options for dealing with violations of IHL.> Describe the main non-judicial options for dealing with violations of IHL.

Possible short-answer questions:

> What responsibilities do commanders of armed forces or groups have for bringing alleged perpetrators to court?

> List some advantages that ‘hybrid’ courts may offer over purely national or purely international courts.

> What are the key aims of truth commissions?

Assessment

61EHL

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4Assessment

You could ask students to formulate other questions in small groups and then select one of them as the essay question for the whole class. Or you could ask each student to propose a question and then answer it. (The student would be assessed on the quality of the question as well as on the answer.) Or you could select a quote from a newspaper article, a sidebar in the materials or another source and ask students to identify the main point being made in the quote and whether they agree or disagree with it.

CRITERIA FOR ASSESSMENT

An effective student response is one which:

• usesconcepts,suchasbystander,combatant,dilemmaorchainreactionandothertermsintheEHLmaterials;

• givesconcreteexamplestobackuppoints;• includesexamplesfromavarietyofsources,suchasthenewsmedia,interviews,

class discussion and outside reading.

The above techniques are simply suggestions to help you assess your students’ work on the EHL materials. Feel free to adapt them to your needs.

EHL 62

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4Web resources

JUDICIAL OPTIONS

• Internationalcriminaljurisdiction,InternationalCommitteeoftheRedCross (http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_ihl_international_criminal_jurisdiction?opendocument)

• Prosecutingwarcriminalsunderinternationalhumanitarianlaw,InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross (http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/5kzmnu?opendocument)

• Internationaljustice,AmnestyInternational (http://web.amnesty.org/pages/jus-index-eng)

• NurembergWarCrimesTrials,YaleLawSchool (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/imt.htm)

• InternationalCriminalTribunalfortheFormerYugoslavia (http://www.un.org/icty)

• InternationalCriminalTribunalforRwanda (http://www.ictr.org)

• InternationalCriminalCourt (http://www.icc-cpi.int)

• SpecialCourtforSierraLeone (http://www.sc-sl.org)

• CourtofBosniaandHerzegovina (http://www.sudbih.gov.ba/?jezik=e)

• SpecialPanelsforSeriousCrimesinTimor-Leste (http://www.jsmp.minihub.org/courtmonitoring/spsc.htm)

• TrialWatch (http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch.html)

NON-JUDICIAL OPTIONS

• Timor-Leste:CommissionforReception,TruthandReconciliation (http://www.cavr-timorleste.org)

• SierraLeone:TheFinalReportoftheTruthandReconciliationCommission (http://trcsierraleone.org/drwebsite/publish/index.shtml)

• SierraLeone:TruthandReconciliationCommissionReportfortheChildrenofSierraLeone (http://www.trcsierraleone.org/pdf/kids.pdf )

• SouthAfrica:TruthandReconciliationCommission (http://www.doj.gov.za/trc)

• Argentina:NationalCommissionontheDisappearanceofPersonsReport– Nunca Más (Never Again) (http://www.nuncamas.org/english/library/nevagain/nevagain_001.htm)

• Peru:FinalReportoftheTruthandReconciliationCommission (http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ingles/pagina01.php)

• InternationalCentreforTransitionalJustice (http://www.ictj.org/en/index.html)

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_ihl_international_criminal_jurisdiction?opendocument

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/section_ihl_international_criminal_jurisdiction?opendocument

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/5kzmnu?opendocument

http://web.amnesty.org/pages/jus-index-eng

http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/imt/imt.htm

http://www.un.org/icty

http://www.ictr.org

http://www.icc-cpi.int

http://www.sc-sl.org

http://www.sudbih.gov.ba/?jezik=e

http://www.jsmp.minihub.org/courtmonitoring/spsc.htm

http://www.trial-ch.org/en/trial-watch.html

http://www.cavr-timorleste.org



http://www.doj.gov.za/trc


http://www.cverdad.org.pe/ingles/pagina01.php

http://www.ictj.org/en/index.html

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Documents

Module 4 Dealing with violations